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LITERACY

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Families Helping Children Become Better Readers

Tennessee State Improvement Grant 2007 The University of Tennessee is an EEO/AA/Title VI/Title IX/Section 504/ADA/ADEA institution in the provision of its education and employment programs and services.

This Resource Kit is the result of collaboration among many individuals. We would like to thank parents and children from Inskip Elementary School for telling us what parents need to know to help their children in school, for taking the time to test the information during their summer vacation, and for telling us what worked and what didn’t work.

Editor: Reggie Curran Center for Literacy Studies

Tennessee State Improvement Grant Advancing the Skills of Tennessee Students Kathy Strunk, Project Director E-mail [email protected] Telephone 615-532-1659 http://sig.cls.utk.edu Department of Education Division of Special Education 7th Floor, Andrew Johnson Tower 710 James Robertson Parkway Nashville, TN 37243

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The University of Tennessee Center for Literacy Studies 600 Henley Street, Suite 312 Knoxville, TN 37996-4135 1-877-340-0546 or 865-974-4109 (fax) 865-974-3857 http://cls.coe.utk.edu/ The University of Tennessee is an EEO/AA/Title VI/Title IX/Section504/ADA/ADEA institution in the provision of its education and employment programs and services. UT Publication No.: R01-1704-058-010-07

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Table of Contents

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ach section of the kit addresses a different area of information that can help your children succeed in school. Read the suggestions and use whatever appeals to you. Not every area will pertain to you—just use whatever makes sense and will help you to help your child. If an idea is not working for you and your child—if either or both of you are becoming frustrated—stop and go on to something else. You can try that activity again later, or you may decide it’s not appropriate. An activity doesn’t need to be used for a long period of time to be effective—five or ten minutes a few times a day adds up to time spent helping your child. SECTION 1: FAMILY INVOLVEMENT Purpose of this Resource Kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 What Happens Outside of School Is Critical for Academic Success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Home Literacy/Involvement Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 SECTION 2: READING DEVELOPMENT How Do Children Learn to Read? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Tips for Families to Prepare Children for Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Reading First Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Learning Standards for Reading in Tennessee Elementary Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Helping Your Child Choose the Right Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Reading Suggestions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 SECTION 3: ACTIVITIES FOR BUILDING READING SKILLS Building Literacy into Everyday Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Activities to Help Children Learn, Organize, Plan, etc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Activities to Go Along with Books in SIG Kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 SECTION 4: WORKING WITH TEACHERS AND SCHOOLS Working with Teachers and Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Parent-Teacher Conferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Helping Your Child Prepare for Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 Monitoring Homework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Report Card Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 Additional Resources for Parents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 SECTION 5: SPECIAL NEEDS AND DISABILITIES Part I: General Guidelines for Children With Special Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 Children With Disabilities and Special Needs: Characteristics and Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Quick Information about RTI (“Response to Intervention) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Part II: Suggestions for Parents of Children With Significant Disabilities . . . . . . . . . 115 Sample PLPs – Present Levels of Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 Other Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Additional Literacy Resources for Children With Special Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

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Purpose of This Resource Kit

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his resource kit is provided to you as a result of your school’s participation in the Tennessee State Improvement Grant. The strategies in the book are designed for you to use to help your child succeed in school. If you and your child are already doing most of these things, hooray for both of you! If not, we hope you will consider trying some of these activities to see how they help. This book has activities and resources that will help you become more involved in your child’s education. The focus is on literacy; the ability to read, write and communicate. Literacy is important throughout life; we need reading and writing skills to be successful in school, but we also need to be able to read to live our everyday lives. Reading helps us to communicate with others, make consumer purchases, understand directions and maps, enjoy good books, and engage in many other activities that improve our lives. Literacy is used during day-to-day activities to help us “get things done”.

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See the resources in the special education section for specific information about resources for families who have special needs.

We have packed this book with ideas about how you can help your children be successful in school. There is information about how children learn to read and how to work with teachers and school personnel. There are activities you can use with your children to help to improve their reading skills; try out the activities and use whatever works for you and your child. If your child gets frustrated or tired, stop and try again later. Spending five or ten minutes of fun work is more productive than thirty minutes of frustration. Have fun using these ideas and discovering more ideas of your own! Throughout this manual there will be ideas and strategies that are specifically designed for families who have children with special needs. The symbol will represent additional information that is intended to assist families who have children of all ages with various types of disability. In addition, a section has been added that addresses issues related to informing families of children with special needs about the special education process, including how to address literacy in a child’s Individualized Education Program (IEP).

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What Happens Outside of School is Critical for Academic Success What Can Parents Do At Home to Help Children Achieve?

The way time is spent outside of the classroom is a powerful influence on what and how much children learn.

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If your child is non-verbal or has a disability that prevents them from sharing with you the activities of

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arents often ask what they can do at home to help their children achieve more in school. The way time is spent outside of the classroom is a powerful influence on what and how much children learn. The descriptions of families whose children are doing well in school repeatedly mention these examples of what happens in their homes: • Establishing a daily family routine – providing time and a quiet place to study; assigning responsibility for household chores; being firm about times to get up and go to bed; having dinner together. • Monitoring out-of-school activities – setting limits on time spent watching TV or on the computer or surfing the internet; checking on children when parents are not home; arranging for after-school activities.

the day, ask for a journal between home and school that can be used for the teacher to give you information about your child’s day so that you can interact with them

• Modeling the value of learning, self-discipline, and hard work – communicating through questioning and conversation; demonstrating that achievement comes from working hard and not giving up; using reference materials and the library.

about the specific things they did in school. In the same manner, you can write short notes when your child participated in a family event that the teacher can use to

• Expressing high but realistic expectations for achievement – setting goals and standards that are appropriate for a child’s age and maturity; recognizing and encouraging special talents; informing friends and family of successes.

include your child in classroom discussions.

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• Encouraging children’s development and progress in school – maintaining a warm and supportive home; showing interest in a child’s progress at school; helping with homework

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(but not doing it); discussing the value of education and possible career options; staying in touch with teachers and school staff. If your child is non-verbal or has a disability that prevents them from sharing with you the activities of the day, ask for a journal between home and school that can be used for the teacher to give you information about your child’s day so that you can interact with them about the specific things they did in school. In the same manner, you can write short notes when your child participated in a family event that the teacher can use to include your child in classroom discussions.

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If you are interested in information regarding Disability Mentoring Day (800-280-STEP), contact the Parent Training Information Center. Introducing your child with special

• Reading, writing and discussion among family members – reading, listening to children read, and talking about what is being read; discussing the day over dinner; telling stories and sharing problems; writing letters, lists and messages.

needs to adults with similar disabilities is a great way to encourage and motivate your child.

• Using community resources for family needs – enrolling in sports programs or lessons; introducing children to role models and mentors; using community services. From A New Generation of Evidence: The Family is Critical to Student Achievement. Henderson and Berla, 1995

Home Literacy/ Involvement Checklist

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Your home is where your

s your home literacy-friendly? Are you staying involved in your child’s learning? As parents, you are your child’s first teachers, and you have the greatest amount of influence on your child’s learning. Your home is where your young children get their first experiences with books, and where your growing children see you as a model for reading behaviors. Does what happens in your house show your children how much you value reading? Success in

young child gets his or her first experiences with books, and where your growing children see you as a model for reading behaviors.

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school depends, in large part, on your child’s ability to read, and your role in helping your child become a reader extends into the classroom. The kinds of support you provide will, of course, change as your child grows older. The statements on the following page suggest ways to help you create a home atmosphere that supports learning through reading. Home Literacy/Involvement Checklist Reading and Books I read to my child almost every day. (Even growing children like to be read to.) I talk to my child about what we are reading. I ask questions about what we are reading. We compare what we are reading about to what is happening in my child’s world. My child has some fairly easy books that he can read by himself. My child has some books that are a little bit difficult for her to read, so I help her read these books. My child has some books about things that interest her. When my child reads or sees something that interests him, I take him to the library and help him find more books about the subject. I take my child to the library. My child has a library card and I help him to use it. We visit bookstores (new and used) and purchase books when possible. My child sees me read almost every day. My child has access to a well-lit, quiet area with table or flat surface for play and work. My child has access to crayons, markers, pens, and pencils for writing and drawing. I show my child that reading is connected to what I do on the job, in shopping, cooking, hobbies, etc. I help my child rhyme words, (like cat, bat, hat), or (Teddy, steady, ready) I encourage my child to learn new words now and then.

Watching TV We watch TV and read as a family, and discuss what we read and watch. I talk to my child about what we see on television and how to make wise choices concerning what to watch.

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Already I’ll do this! try it!

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Connecting Home and School

Already I’ll do this! try it!

I talk to my child about what we see in our life; at stores, in the car, in the yard and house, etc. I encourage my child to use computers, either in school, at home, or at the library. I encourage my child to tell me about his school day, and about what he is learning. I allow my child to teach me about what she has learned in school, rather than always being the one who “knows it all”. I talk to my child about his school and social time almost every day. I know the names of my child’s closest friends. I let my child know that I expect him to work hard in school. I let my child know that I value his work in school, and that I value school in general.

Working with Teachers I talk to my child’s teachers about her work, and tell them what they need to know about my child. If I don’t understand what is going on at school, I contact the teacher. If my child is concerned about school issues, I talk to her and to the teacher to find out what is happening. I try to show my child’s teachers respect, and work with them on my child’s behalf.

Respecting My Child I participate in school programs and in my child’s extracurricular activities. I provide opportunities for my child to talk to me about what is troubling him and what he is excited about. I work at showing my child how much I appreciate his effort in school and try not to compare him to other children. I ask my child about what he is interested in, and let him choose some of his own activities from those approved by me as the parent. I show my child that, even though our interests may be different, hers are as important as mine.

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Additional Tips for Parents of Children With Special Needs I use audio tapes and books that “read” by pushing the button as an alternate way for my child to participate in reading. I use pictures of daily events to interact with a non-verbal child. For example; “Show me a picture of your favorite activity you did in school today.” I make a “picture” address book with pictures of my child’s classmates and teachers and then ask my child to “point to someone you played with today,” or to “point to someone you would like to invite over.” If I am not receiving information on a regular basis about school programs and activities, including clubs and activities that are available after school, I ask to be kept informed and try to participate.

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Already I’ll do this! try it!

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SECTION 2: READING DEVELOPMENT

How Do Children Learn to Read? The Building Blocks of Reading 1. Talking to your baby

When you speak to babies, you are teaching them about listening and talking. Children who do not hear a lot of talk and who are not encouraged to talk often have problems learning to read.

2. Baby Talk

The exaggerated sounds and rhythms of baby words helps babies begin to understand language and the give and take of talking and listening.

3. Reading Books

Reading books to children helps them learn that we use books in specific ways—we read them left to right and front to back. This teaches children print awareness, just as signs, labels, etc. do.

4. Phonemes and Sounds

Words are made up of sounds called phonemes. “Cat” has three sounds or phonemes: “c”, “a” and “t”.

5. Phonics, Putting Sounds Together

Some letters work together to make specific sounds, such as “th”, and “ea.” Knowing these patterns helps children read. These patterns are part of phonics.

6. Fluency

When we read accurately, effortlessly, and with expression, we are reading fluently. We need to be able to read fluently to understand what we read.

7. Vocabulary

Vocabulary consists of the words we use to communicate. Oral vocabulary refers to words used in speaking or that we recognize when listening. Reading vocabulary refers to words we recognize in print.

8. Comprehension

Comprehension is the reason for reading—understanding what we read.

Comprehension

Vocabulary

Fluency

Phonics

Phonemic Awareness

Reading Ability

Reading Readiness Talking to baby helps him learn to listen and respond

Baby learns sounds and words through listening

Reading to baby shows him how to use books

Books help baby learn words and connect words to print

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Words Used When Discussing Reading Instruction Automaticity

Fast, effortless word recognition

Blending

Combining individual sounds into a word, /b/ /i/ /g/` is big Combining syllables to make words play + pen = playpen

Decode

Ability to figure out a word by translating the letters into speech sounds to determine the word’s pronunciation and meaning

Developmental Spelling

The use of letter-sound relationship information to attempt to write words; sometimes called invented spelling

Emergent Literacy

The view that literacy learning begins at birth and is encouraged through participation with adults in meaningful reading and writing activities

Explicit Instruction

Direct, structured, systematic teaching of a task

Environmental Print

Print that is part of everyday life, such as signs, billboards, labels, and business logos

Fluency

Ability to read a word accurately, quickly, and with expression

Graphic Organizers

Diagrams that visually represent the organization and relationship of ideas in a text

Irregular words

Frequently used words that don’t follow the letter-sound relationship rules that children are learning

Leveled Books

Books that have been assigned a particular level (usually a number or letter, such as Level 1 or Level B) intended to indicate how difficult the book is for children to read.

Literacy

Includes all activities involved in speaking, listening, reading, writing, and appreciating both spoken and written language

Oral Language Difficulties

Poor vocabulary, listening comprehension, or grammatical abilities for one’s age

Phonics

The relationships between the sounds of spoken words and the individual letters or groups of letters that represent those sounds in written words

Phonemes

The smallest parts of spoken language that combine to form words. Cat has three phonemes - /c/ /a/ /t/

Phonemic Awareness

Ability to hear and identify individual sounds in spoken words

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Phonological Awareness

The understanding that spoken language is made up of individual and separate sounds. Phonological awareness activities can involve work with rhymes, words, sentences, syllables, and phonemes

Predictable Books

Books that have repeated words or sentences, rhymes, or other patterns. (Brown, bear, brown bear, what do you see?)

Prefix

A word part such as re-, un-, or pre- that is added to the beginning of a root word to form a new word with a new meaning

Print Awareness

Knowing about print and books and how they are used

Reading Comprehension

Ability to understand the meaning of what is read

Root word

A word or word part to which a prefix or suffix is added

Segmentation

Taking spoken words apart sound by sound

Sight word

High-frequency words which make up about 50% of the words we read and often cause children problems, such as, I, a, am, at, on, and, me. Children should recognize without having to sound them out

Suffix

A word part such as –ness, -able, or –er that is added to the end of a root word to form a new word with a new meaning

Syllable

A part of a word as determined by vowel sounds and rhythm, cat has one syllable, baby has two

Visual Perceptual Abilities

Ability to recognize and visually distinguish between the letters in words

Vocabulary

The words we must know in order to communicate effectively. Oral vocabulary refers to words that we use in speaking or recognize in listening. Reading vocabulary refers to words we recognize or use in print

Word recognition

Ability to identify printed words and to translate them into their corresponding sounds quickly so as to figure out their meanings

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Tips for Families to Prepare Children for Reading

A Preparing children

s a parent, what kind of things can I do to help my child be ready to learn to read? Preparing children for reading doesn’t begin when they start school—it starts from the time they are born. Baby talk, songs, rhymes, asking questions, and pointing interesting things out to them —all of these activities help them develop the skills they will need to learn to read. Here are some additional ideas to help make sure your child is ready to read and learn:

for reading doesn’t

• Talk with and listen to your children as you play and do daily activities together.

begin when they start

• Read with your children at a regular time every day and when they ask you to read.

school—it starts from the time they are born.

• Take toddlers and preschoolers to the library so they can choose books to read at home. Find out about your library’s special books and services. • Create a special place in your home for your children to read and write. • Keep books and other reading materials where children can reach them. Add new books often. • Trade books with friends, or have a book exchange at school or in your neighborhood. • Keep writing materials such as washable, nontoxic crayons and markers, paints and brushes, and different kinds of paper where your children can reach them. • Take books and writing materials for your children with you whenever you leave home, so that they can read or write at the doctor’s office, on the bus, and in the car. • Show your children how you read and write every day to have fun and to get things done. • Point out to your children the printed words in your home and in the community. • Discuss with your children what they are seeing and viewing. • Encourage your children to do things for themselves when they are ready. Let them feed and dress themselves, and clean up after themselves. Adapted from America Reads Challenge: Ready*Set*Read for Families, April 1997

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Reading First Basics

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eading First is an approach being used in your child’s school to provide high-quality reading instruction that will help them to become successful readers. According to the most recent data available from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), only 31% of all fourth graders are at or above the proficient level in reading. Research shows that students who fall behind in reading in the earliest grades rarely make up this shortcoming, and have more difficulty with schoolwork in general. Because early success in reading helps to prevent later problems in reading, the Reading First program focuses on improving instruction for K - 3 students. Reading First schools use research to show what works in helping all students become proficient readers. How It Works Reading First (RF) provides funding to states, which then provide funds to schools who meet the requirements for grants that will provide materials and training to teachers to help their students learn strategies that will improve reading ability. Students are assessed frequently to be sure they are making good progress. The Reading First program uses a three-tier system of reading instruction. All students are required to take part in at least 90 minutes of reading instruction every day they are in school. During this 90-minute period, teachers focus on strategies that will help students build skills in the five following components of reading: 1. Phonemic awareness – the ability to hear, identify, and play with individual sounds - or phonemes - in spoken words. 2. Phonics – the relationship between the letters of written language and the sounds of spoken language. 3. Fluency – the capacity to read text accurately, effortlessly, and with expression. 4. Vocabulary – the words students must know to communicate effectively. 5. Comprehension – the understanding of what is read.

Research shows that students who fall behind in reading in the earliest grades rarely make up this shortcoming, and have more difficulty with schoolwork in general.

If a child needs more assistance, he/she will also take part in Tier 2, in which he will receive an additional 30 minutes of reading instruction. Children who are still having difficulty will participate in a third tier that will provide alternative instruction. A child may only need to participate in Tier 2 or Tier 3 for a short period of time and then may catch up and return to just Tier 1. If you have more questions about Reading First, ask your child’s teacher. SECTION 2: READING DEVELOPMENT

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Learning Standards for Reading in Tennessee Elementary Schools The Tennessee Department of Education has defined specific “Learning Standards – Expectations and Accomplishments” necessary to ensure that Tennessee students develop the language skills needed to succeed in school, in the workplace, and in their lives. The following tables list learning expectations and accomplishments in the area of Reading for each grade from kindergarten through grade five.

Kindergarten Learning Expectation

Reading Accomplishment

Develop oral language.

a. Show evidence of expanding oral language through vocabulary growth. b. Speak clearly, properly, and politely. c. Begin to use rules for conversation (e.g., raise hands, take turns and focus attention on speaker). d. Give simple, two-step oral directions. e. Participate in group discussion. f. Participate in creative responses to text (e.g., response, discussion and dramatization). g. Ask and respond to questions from teacher and other group members. h. Begin to retell familiar stories. i. Dramatize, retell, and dictate what has been learned. j. Use familiar texts for recitations.

Develop listening skills.

a. Listen attentively to speaker for specific information. b. Use appropriate listening skills (e.g., do not interrupt, face speaker, ask questions). c. Listen and respond to a variety of media (e.g., books, audio tapes, videos). d. Recognize the difference between formal and informal languages. e. Follow simple, two-step oral directions.

Demonstrate knowledge of concepts of print.

a. Identify labels, logos, and signs in the environment (e.g., job instructions, room labels, poison and danger signs/labels). b. Understand that print has meaning. c. “Pretend read” from left to right, top to bottom, and front to back as well as hold a book upright and turn pages. d. Read and explain own writings and drawings. e. Identify front cover and back cover of a book. f. Distinguish letters from words.

Develop and maintain phonemic awareness.

a. Understand that a phoneme is one distinct sound. b. Use sound stretching of one syllable words to identify each phoneme (cat, /c/, /a/, /t/). c. Use sound blending of each separately spoken phoneme to make meaningful word (/m/, /o/, /m/ to mom). d. Segment one-syllable words into individual sounds and blend the sounds into whole words.

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Kindergarten Learning Expectation

Reading Accomplishment

Develop and maintain phonemic awareness, cont.

e. Recognize and produce rhyming words. f. Recognize words that have same beginning and ending sounds. g. Understand words are made up of one or more syllables (e.g., students clap syllables in words).

Develop and use decoding strategies.

a. Recognize and name all upper and lowercase letters of the alphabet. b. Begin to understand that the sequence of letters in a written word represents the sequence of sounds in a spoken word. c. Use letter-sound matches to decode simple words. d. Understand that as letters of words change, so do the sounds (alphabetic principle).

Read to develop fluency, expression, accuracy and confidence.

a. Read simple text containing familiar letter-sound correspondences and high frequency words. b. Recognize that intonation and volume of voice assist with meaning. c. Read as “an emergent reader” a favorite story with fluent intonation and phrasing.

Develop and extend reading vocabulary.

a. Build vocabulary by listening to literature and participating in discussions. b. Build vocabulary by experiencing a wide range of text types. c. Participate in shared reading. d. Begin to use word families and word walls. e. Read some words by sight (e.g., the, has, an, can, run, as well as color and number words). f. Use a picture dictionary to determine word meaning.

Develop and use pre-reading strategies.

a. Recognize a purpose for listening. b. Relate background knowledge to make meaning from text. c. Make predictions about text. d. Use illustrations to preview the text. e. Participate in the creation of graphic organizers (e.g., KWL charts). f. Connect to life experience the information and events in texts.

Use active comprehension strategies to derive meaning while reading and check for understanding after reading.

Derive meaning while reading by 1. Asking questions about a text. 2. Participating in discussions about text. 3. Predicting what will happen next as a story is shared. 4. Creating mental images of the story (e.g., characters, setting).

Check for understanding after reading by…

1. Recalling two to three step sequence of events. 2. Retelling story in own words. 3. Drawing conclusions based on evidence in the story. 4. Using pictures to discuss main idea.

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Kindergarten Learning Expectation

Reading Accomplishment

Introduce informational skills to facilitate learning.

a. Recognize the family and community as resources for information. b. Recognize a variety of print sources (e.g., books, newspapers, magazines, and charts). c. Recognize sources of information (e.g., books, graphs and computers).

Develop skills to facilitate reading to learn in a variety of content areas.

a. Recognize that printed materials provide information. b. Use common illustrations to gain meaning from text.

Read independently for a variety of purposes. (At this level, the student will experience a variety of text/media for different purposes.)

a. Read to gain information (e.g., pictures, videos, picture books). b. Read for enjoyment (e.g., book on tape, posters, pictures, videos, picture books). c. Read to expand vocabulary (e.g., books on tape, photographs, posters).

Begin to experience various literary and media genres.

a. Explore picture books. b. Explore alphabet and number books. c. Explore Mother Goose Rhymes and other rhyming books. d. Explore storybooks. e. Explore fairy tales. f. Explore poetry. g. Explore lyrics to songs. h. View various media genres (e.g., posters, pictures, photographs, films, videos). i. Sequence events in a story (e.g., using books, videos, films).

Develop and maintain a motivation to read.

a. Visit libraries and regularly check out materials. b. Share storybooks, poems and environmental print. c. Identify favorite stories.

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SECTION 2: READING DEVELOPMENT

A L I T E R A C Y R E S O U R C E K I T F O R PA R E N T S

First Grade Learning Expectation

Reading Accomplishment

Develop oral language

a. Show evidence of expanding oral language through vocabulary growth. b. Implement rules for conversation (e.g., raise hands, take turns, focus attention on speaker). c. Understand, follow and give oral directions. d. Participate in group discussions. e. Participate in creative responses to text (e.g., choral reading, discussion and drama). f. Respond to questions from teacher and other group members. g. Begin to narrate a personal story. h. Dramatize or retell what has been learned, heard or experienced. i. Use familiar texts for recitations.

Develop listening skills.

a. Listen attentively to speaker for specific information. b. Use appropriate listening skills (e.g., do not interrupt, face speaker, ask questions). c. Listen and respond to a variety of media (e.g., books, audio tapes, videos). d. Recognize the difference between formal and informal languages. e. Understand and follow simple, three-step oral directions.

Demonstrate knowledge of concepts of print.

a. Understand that printed materials provide information. b. Demonstrate directionality by reading left to right and top to bottom. c. Track print when being read to aloud. d. Read and explain own writings and drawings. e. Identify parts of a book (e.g., title page, table of contents). f. Recognize that groups of words make sentences. g. Understand punctuation (e.g., period, question mark).

Develop and maintain phonemic awareness.

a. Recognize words that begin with the same sounds. b. Recognize words that end with the same sounds. c. Identify rhyming words. d. Blend sounds together to form one-syllable words. e. Segment one-syllable words into sounds. f. Change targeted sounds to modify or change words. g. Show awareness of syllables by clapping, counting or moving objects.

Develop and use decoding strategies to read unfamiliar words.

a. Use knowledge of letter-sound correspondence knowledge and structural analysis to decode grade appropriate words. b. Decode phonetically regular, one-syllable words. c. Use decoding strategies, such as sounding out words, comparing similar words, breaking words into smaller words, and looking for word parts (e.g., compound words, word families, blends, and digraphs). d. Apply long and short vowel rules when decoding. e. Begin to decode unknown words automatically.

SECTION 2: READING DEVELOPMENT

15

A L I T E R A C Y R E S O U R C E K I T F O R PA R E N T S

First Grade Learning Expectation

Reading Accomplishment

Read to develop fluency, expression, accuracy and confidence.

a. Begin to read orally with accuracy and confidence using appropriate pacing, intonation, and expression. b. Reflect punctuation of written text while reading orally. c. Participate in guided, oral readings. d. Demonstrate the automatic recognition of high frequency words. e. Read with increasing fluency and confidence from a variety of texts through paired readings, shared reading, choral reading, teacher-led reading, and reading from tapes. f. Read independently daily. g. Recite familiar texts to develop fluency, expression, accuracy and confidence.

Develop and extend reading vocabulary.

a. Build vocabulary by listening to literature, participating in discussions, and reading self-selected texts. b. Build vocabulary through frequent read-alouds. c. Participate in shared reading. d. Manipulate word families, word walls, and word sorts. e. Match oral words to written words. f. Determine the meaning of unfamiliar words by using a picture dictionary, picture clues, context clues and structural analysis. g. Add endings to base words (e.g., -s, -ed, -es, -ing). h. Identify simple abbreviations.

Develop and use pre-reading strategies.

a. Develop a purpose for listening/reading. b. Participate in activities to build background knowledge to derive meaning from text. c. Make predictions about text. d. Use illustrations to preview text.

Use active comprehension strategies to derive meaning while reading and check for understanding after reading.

a.

Derive meaning while reading by 1. Asking questions about text. 2. Recognizing errors in reading as they occur and self-correct. 3. Participating in discussions about text and relating to personal experiences. 4. Creating graphic organizers (e.g., charts, lists). 5. Predicting and adjusting outcomes during read-alouds. b. Check for understanding after reading by: 1. Recalling three to four step sequence of events. 2. Retelling stories in their own words using sequencing words (i.e. first, next, last). 3. Drawing conclusions based on what has been read. 4. Recognizing main idea in pictures, picture books and texts.

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SECTION 2: READING DEVELOPMENT

A L I T E R A C Y R E S O U R C E K I T F O R PA R E N T S

First Grade Learning Expectation

Reading Accomplishment

Introduce informational skills to facilitate learning.

a. Recognize the family and community as sources of information. b. Recognize a variety of print items as sources of information (e.g. books, magazines, maps, charts, and graphs). c. Recognize sources of information (e.g., books, maps, graphs, charts). d. Use graphic organizers to aid in understanding material from informational text (e.g., charts, graphs, web). e. Visit libraries to use and view appropriate material.

Develop skills to facilitate reading to learn in a variety of content areas.

a. Begin to develop content specific vocabulary. b. Use text features to locate information (e.g., maps, charts, illustrations and table of contents).

Read independently for a variety of purposes.

a. Read for literary experience. b. Read to gain information. c. Read to perform a task. d. Read for enjoyment. e. Read to expand vocabulary. f. Read to build fluency.

Experience various literary genres.

a. Read and view various literary (e.g., picture books, storybooks, fairy tales, poetry, lyrics to songs) and media (e.g., illustrations, the arts, films, videos) genres. b. Explore non-fiction. c. Identify characters, events, and settings in print and non-print text. d. Recognize main character(s) in print and non-print text. e. Determine whether a selection is real or fantasy. f. Recognize rhyme in Mother Goose and other rhyming books. g. Retell a story in correct sequence (e.g., using books, videos, films). h. Determine the problem in a story and discover its solution through classroom discussion.

Develop and maintain a motivation to read.

a. Visit libraries/media centers and regularly check out materials. b. Share storybooks, poems, newspapers, and environmental print. c. Explore a wide variety of literature through read-alouds, tapes, and independent reading. d. Identify favorite stories, informational text, authors, and illustrators. e. Engage in a variety of literacy activities voluntarily (e.g., self-select books and stories). f. Choose to read as a leisure activity.

SECTION 2: READING DEVELOPMENT

17

A L I T E R A C Y R E S O U R C E K I T F O R PA R E N T S

Second Grade Learning Expectation

Reading Accomplishment

Develop oral language.

a. Show evidence of expanding oral language through vocabulary growth. b. Continue to implement rules for conversation. c. Understand, follow, and give oral directions. d. Participate in group discussion. e. Participate in creative responses to text (e.g., choral reading, discussion, and dramatization). f. Respond to questions from teachers and other group members. g. Narrate a personal story. h. Summarize lesson content.

Develop listening skills.

a. Listen attentively to speaker for specific information. b. Use appropriate listening skills (e.g., does not interrupt, faces speaker, asks questions). c. Listens and responds to a variety of media (e.g., books, audio tapes, videos). d. Recognize the difference between formal and informal languages. e. Follow oral directions.

Demonstrate knowledge of concepts of print.

a. Read and explain own writings. b. Recognize that groups of sentences make a paragraph and paragraphs make a story. c. Recognize and use parts of a book (e.g., title, author, illustrator, table of contents and glossary). d. Understand punctuation (e.g., period, question mark, exclamation mark).

Develop and maintain phonemic awareness.

a. Develop awareness of sounds of language through repeated exposure to a variety of auditory experiences (e.g., poetry, books on tape, music lyrics, sound effects, and read-alouds). b. Add, delete, and change targeted sounds to modify or change words. c. Identify and produce rhyming words.

Develop and use decoding strategies.

a. Use knowledge of letter-sound correspondence and structural analysis to decode words. b. Use decoding strategies, such as sounding out words, comparing similar words, breaking words into smaller words, and looking for word parts (e.g., compound words, word families, blends, and digraphs). c. Use known words to decode unknown words. d. Apply knowledge of basic syllabication rules.

Read to develop fluency, expression, accuracy and confidence.

a. Read orally to develop fluency, expression, accuracy, and confidence. b. Reflect punctuation within written text while reading orally. c. Participate in guided, oral readings. d. Demonstrate the automatic recognition of high frequency words. e. Read a variety of texts with fluency, expression, accuracy and confidence. f. Read independently daily.

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SECTION 2: READING DEVELOPMENT

A L I T E R A C Y R E S O U R C E K I T F O R PA R E N T S

Second Grade Learning Expectation

Reading Accomplishment

Develop and extend reading vocabulary.

a. Build vocabulary by listening to literature, participating in discussions, and reading self-selected and assigned texts. b. Recognize common abbreviations and contractions. c. Participate in shared reading. d. Manipulate word families, word wall and word sorts. e. Match oral words to print words. f. Determine the meaning of unfamiliar words (e.g., picture dictionary, picture clues, context clues and structural analysis). g. Add endings to base words to make new words (e.g., -ed, -ing, and -es). h. Identify simple multiple-meaning words based on the appropriate meaning for the context. i. Build vocabulary through frequent read-alouds.

Develop and use pre-reading strategies.

a. Identify a purpose for reading. b. Participate in activities to build background knowledge to make meaning from text. c. Make predictions about text. d. Use illustrations to preview text. e. Create graphic organizers (e.g., KWL, webs, lists, story maps, charts). f. Connect life experience to information and events in texts.

Use active comprehension strategies to derive meaning while reading and check for understanding after reading.

a. Derive meaning while reading 1. Employing self-correction strategies (e.g., rereading, asking for help). 2. Participating in discussion about text and relating selection to personal experience. 3. Predicting and adjusting outcomes during reading. b. Check for understanding after reading by 1. Recalling the sequence of events in a story. 2. Drawing conclusions based on evidence gained while reading. 3. Restating story events in order to clarify and organize ideas. 4. Recognizing cause and effect. 5. Recognizing the main idea in picture books and texts.

Introduce informational skills to facilitate learning.

a. Recognize outside resources (e.g., family and community). b. Recognize a variety of print sources (e.g., books, magazines, maps, charts, and graphs). c. Understand the purpose of various reference materials (e.g., dictionary, encyclopedia). d. Use graphic organizers to aid in understanding material from informational texts. e. Visit libraries and checks out appropriate materials.

SECTION 2: READING DEVELOPMENT

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A L I T E R A C Y R E S O U R C E K I T F O R PA R E N T S

Second Grade Learning Expectation

Reading Accomplishment

Develop skills to facilitate reading to learn in a variety of content areas.

a. Develop content specific vocabulary. b. Use text features to locate information (e.g., charts, maps and illustrations).

Read independently for a variety of purposes.

a. Read for literary experience. b. Read to gain information. c. Read to perform a task. d. Read for enjoyment. e. Read to expand vocabulary. f. Read to build fluency.

Experience various literary and media genres.

a. Read and view various literary (e.g., picture books, storybooks, fairy tales, nonfiction texts, poetry, lyrics to songs) and media (e.g., illustrations, the arts, films, videos) genres. b. Understand the main idea in a visual message (e.g., pictures, cartoons, posters). c. Explore folktales and fables. d. Identify characters, plot, and setting in print and non-print text. e. Recognize how the main character and other characters interact with each other. f. Identify types of stories (e.g., folktales, fables, fairy tales). g. Determine whether the events in the reading selection are real or fantasy. h. Compare and contrast different stories. i. Determine the problem in a story and discover its solution.

Develop and maintain a motivation to read.

a. Visit libraries/media centers and regularly check out materials. b. Share storybooks, poems, environmental print, and own writing. c. Explore a wide variety of literature through read-alouds, tapes, and independent reading. d. Identify favorite stories, informational text, authors and illustrators. e. Engage in a variety of literacy activities voluntarily (e.g., self-select books and stories). f. Relate literary experiences to others (e.g., book reports, sharing favorite stories). g. Experience daily opportunities to read. h. Choose to read as a leisure activity.

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SECTION 2: READING DEVELOPMENT

A L I T E R A C Y R E S O U R C E K I T F O R PA R E N T S

Third Grade Learning Expectation

Reading Accomplishment

Develop oral language.

a. Show evidence of expanding oral language through vocabulary growth. b. Consistently use established rules for conversation (e.g., taking turns, raising hand, and asking questions). c. Understand, follow, and give oral directions. d. Respond to questions from teachers and other group members and pose follow-up questions for clarity. e. Participate in creative responses to text (e.g., choral reading, discussion, dramatization, and oral presentations). f. Summarize orally what has been learned or accomplished after completing an activity or assignment. g. Give oral presentations about experiences or interests, using eye contact, proper pacing, adequate volume, and clear enunciation.

Develop listening skills.

a. Listen attentively to speaker for specific information. b. Use appropriate listening skills (e.g., do not interrupt, face speaker, ask questions). c. Listen and respond to a variety of media (e.g., books, audio tapes, videos). d. Recognize the difference between formal and informal languages. e. Follow oral directions.

Demonstrate knowledge of concepts of print.

a. Recognize that groups of sentences make a paragraph and paragraphs make a story or article. b. Recognize and use parts of text (e.g., title, table of contents, glossary and index). c. Recognize and use common text features (e.g., headings, key words, graphics). d. Recognize different forms of text (e.g., poems, plays and stories).

Develop and maintain phonemic awareness.

a. Develop awareness of sounds of language through repeated exposure to a variety of auditory experiences (e.g., poetry, books on tape, music lyrics, sound effects, and read-alouds). b. Add, delete, and change targeted sounds to modify or change words. c. Identify and produce rhyming words and original poems.

Develop and use decoding strategies.

a. Use knowledge of letter-sound correspondence and structural analysis to decode. b. Decode multi-syllabic words not yet known as sight words. c. Use decoding strategies, such as sounding out words, comparing similar words, breaking words into smaller words, and looking for word parts (e.g., root words, prefixes, and suffixes). d. Use previously learned strategies to decode and verify word meaning utilizing the context of the selection.

SECTION 2: READING DEVELOPMENT

21

A L I T E R A C Y R E S O U R C E K I T F O R PA R E N T S

Third Grade Learning Expectation

Reading Accomplishment

Read to develop fluency, expression, accuracy and confidence.

a. Read with increasing fluency and confidence from a variety of texts (e.g., paired readings, shared reading, choral reading, teacher-led reading, and reading from tapes). b. Read aloud grade-appropriate narrative and expository text fluently and accurately, using appropriate timing, intonation, and expression. c. Participate in guided oral reading. d. Reflect punctuation within written text while reading orally. e. Demonstrate the automatic recognition of high frequency words. f. Read daily and independently from a variety of texts.

Develop and extend reading vocabulary.

a. Build vocabulary by listening to literature and participating in discussion. b. Build vocabulary through frequent read-alouds. c. Determine word meaning using root words, prefixes, and suffixes. d. Recognize and use compound words, contractions, and abbreviations. e. Determine the meaning of unfamiliar words by using context clues, dictionaries, and other classroom resources. f. Use antonyms and synonyms to facilitate understanding of words. g. Use context clues to determine meaning of multi-meaning words. h. Manipulate word walls and word sorts. i. Build vocabulary by reading a wide range of text types inside and outside the classroom.

Develop and use pre-reading strategies.

a. Identify a purpose for reading (e.g., for information, for enjoyment, for understanding a writer’s position). b. Participate in activities to build background knowledge to make meaning from text. c. Make predictions using text features (e.g., illustrations and graphics). Preview text using illustrations, graphics, text format, text structures and skimming. d. Connect life experience to information and events in texts.

Use active comprehension strategies to derive meaning while reading and check for understanding after reading.

a. Derive meaning while reading by formulating clarifying questions. 1. Predicting outcomes based upon prior knowledge and adjust as knowledge is gained while reading. 2. Using metacognitive reading strategies to monitor comprehension (e. g., reread, read ahead, adjust reading speed ). 3. Creating a mental image. 4. Expressing reactions and personal opinions in response to a selection. b. Check for understanding after reading 1. Drawing conclusions based on evidence gained while reading. 2. Sequencing story events and/or text information. 3. Recognizing cause and effect relationships in text. 4. Discussing similarities and differences in text events, characters, and character actions.

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SECTION 2: READING DEVELOPMENT

A L I T E R A C Y R E S O U R C E K I T F O R PA R E N T S

Third Grade Learning Expectation

Reading Accomplishment

Use active comprehension strategies, cont.

5. Distinguishing between fact and opinion. 6. Recognizing the stated/ implied main idea of the text 7. Discussing author’s purpose for writing.

Introduce informational skills to facilitate learning.

a. Use outside resources to access information (e.g., family and community). b. Use media sources to access information (e.g., online catalog, non-fiction books, encyclopedias, CD-ROM references, Internet). c. Use text referenced material (e.g., dictionary, thesaurus, encyclopedia, magazines, and newspapers). d. Gather and record information on a topic.

Develop skills to facilitate reading to learn in a variety of content areas.

a. Develop and maintain content specific vocabulary. b. Use text features to locate information (e.g., charts, tables of contents, maps, illustrations). c. Apply skills and strategies to comprehend informational text (e.g., pre-reading strategies, comprehension strategies). d. Use self-correction strategies while reading (e.g., pausing, rereading, asking for help).

Read independently for a variety of purposes.

a. Read for literary experience. b. Read to gain information. c. Read to perform a task. d. Read for enjoyment. e. Read to expand vocabulary. f. Read to build fluency.

Experience various literary and media genres.

a. Read and view various literary (e.g., short stories, fairy tales, non-fiction texts, biographies, folktales, and poetry) and media (e.g., photographs, the arts, films, video) genres. b. Understand the main idea or message in visual media (e.g., pictures, cartoons, weather reports on television, newspaper, photographs). c. Define and identify setting. d. Define and identify the characters. e. Differentiate between main and minor characters. f. Determine the problem in a story, discover its solution, and consider alternate solutions. g. Identify types of stories (e.g., folktales, fables, fairy tales). h. Compare and contrast different versions/representations of similar stories, legends, lessons or events reflecting different cultures. i. Explore the ways in which language is used in literary texts (e.g., rhythm, beat, imagery, simile, and metaphor). j. Explore the concept of first person point of view.

SECTION 2: READING DEVELOPMENT

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A L I T E R A C Y R E S O U R C E K I T F O R PA R E N T S

Third Grade Learning Expectation

Reading Accomplishment

Develop and maintain a motivation to read.

a. Visit libraries/media centers and regularly check out materials. b. Engage in a variety of literacy activities voluntarily (self-select books and stories). c. Read longer narrative and expository text independently including chapter books. d. Select literature based on personal needs and interests from a variety of genres and by different authors. e. Choose works from favorite authors/illustrators and genres. f. Relate literary experiences (e.g., book discussions, literacy circles, writing, oral presentations, artistic representations). g. Experience daily opportunities to read. h. Choose to read as a leisure activity.

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SECTION 2: READING DEVELOPMENT

A L I T E R A C Y R E S O U R C E K I T F O R PA R E N T S

Fourth Grade Learning Expectation Reading Accomplishment Continue to develop oral language and listening skills.

a. Listen attentively by facing the speaker, asking questions, and paraphrasing what is said. b. Use established rules for conversation (e.g., do not interrupt, ask questions, provide appropriate feedback). c. Understand, follow, and give oral multi-step directions which may include illustrations. d. Formulate and respond to questions from teachers and other group members. e. Participate in creative responses to text (e.g., choral reading, discussion, dramatization, and oral presentations). f. Summarize orally what has been learned or accomplished after completing an activity or assignment. g. Create and deliver an oral presentation on an assigned topic (e.g., book reports, demonstrations, science projects). h. Present and/or perform original or published literary work with a group and/or individually. i. Use different voice levels and speech patterns for small groups, informal discussions, and reports. j. Interpret and use a variety of non-verbal communication techniques (e.g., gestures, facial expression, posture). k. participate in recitations of assigned/self-selected passages. a. Use parts of text (e.g., title, title page, table of contents, chapter title, glossary, and index). b. Use common text features to enhance understanding (e.g., headings, key words, graphics, captions, side bars). c. Recognize different forms of text (e.g., poems, plays, drama, letters, ads, biographies).

Expand reading skills through phonemic awareness.

a. Develop awareness of the sounds of language through repeated exposure to a variety of auditory experiences (e.g., poetry, music lyrics, books on tape, sound effects, read-alouds). b. Understand rhyming patterns in printed materials. c. Respond and analyze the effects of the sounds of language (e.g., alliteration, onomatopoeia, rhythm, beat).

Use decoding strategies to read unfamiliar words.

a. Continue to use knowledge of letter-sound correspondence and structural analysis to decode words. b. Expand understanding and use of root words, prefixes, and suffixes to decode words. c. Use syllabication to decode words. d. Understand, recognize, and use spelling patterns and word families to decode words. e. Decode unknown grade level words by utilizing learned strategies (e.g., reading ahead, drawing upon prior knowledge) to verify word meanings within the context.

SECTION 2: READING DEVELOPMENT

25

A L I T E R A C Y R E S O U R C E K I T F O R PA R E N T S

Fourth Grade Learning Expectation

Reading Accomplishment

Read to develop fluency, expression, accuracy, and confidence.

a. Increase confidence and poise in reading aloud (e.g., paired reading, shared reading, choral reading, recorded reading, echo reading). b. Read with fluency and confidence from a variety of texts (e.g., poetry, drama, current events, novels). c. Participate in guided oral reading. d. Read orally using appropriate pronunciation, expression, and rate. e. Adjust speed based on the purpose for reading and reading level. f. Read independently daily.

Expand reading vocabulary.

a. Build vocabulary by listening to literature, participating in discussions, and reading self-selected and assigned texts. b. Build vocabulary through frequent read-alouds. c. Infer word meanings using roots, prefixes, and suffixes. d. Determine the meaning of unfamiliar words using context clues, dictionaries, glossaries, and other resources. e. Use appropriate synonyms, antonyms, and homonyms. f. Foster word consciousness (e.g., word play, word walls and word sorts). g. Continue to use context clues to determine the correct meaning/usage of multiple meaning words. h. Select the correct word to complete an analogy. i. Build vocabulary by reading from a wide variety of text and literary genres.

Employ pre-reading strategies to facilitate comprehension.

a. Set a purpose for reading (e.g., to understand, to enjoy, to solve problems, to locate specific information/facts). b. Organize prior knowledge using a variety of strategies (e.g., webbing, mapping, brainstorming, listing). c. Explore significant words to be encountered in selected/assigned text. d. Preview text using text features (e.g., illustrations/pictures, graphs, diagrams, and headings). e. Make predictions about text using text features (e.g., title, author, illustrations, and text format). f. Relate text to prior personal and historical experiences, current events, as well as previously read print and non-print media.

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SECTION 2: READING DEVELOPMENT

A L I T E R A C Y R E S O U R C E K I T F O R PA R E N T S

Fourth Grade Learning Expectation

Reading Accomplishment

Use active comprehension strategies to derive meaning while reading and to check for understanding after reading.

Derive meaning while reading by a. formulating clarifying questions. b. predicting outcomes based upon prior knowledge and adjusting appropriately. c. using metacognitive and self-monitoring reading strategies to improve comprehension (e.g., rereading, identifying miscues, reading ahead, asking for help, and drawing on earlier reading). d. creating mental images. e. expressing reactions and personal opinions to a selection. f. making inferences. g. verifying or modifying the pre-reading purpose. h. drawing conclusions based on evidence gained. Check for understanding after reading by a. indicating sequence of events in fiction and nonfiction selections. b. selecting main idea and supporting details from text. c. identifying the author’s purpose (e.g., to entertain, to inform, to explain). d. discussing similarities and differences in events and characters using evidence cited in two or three text(s). e. selecting information to meet a specific purpose. f. stating reasonable generalizations in reference to two pieces of text on a similar topic. g. locating information to support opinions, predictions, and conclusions. h. identifying cause and effect relationships. i. distinguishing between fact/opinion and reality/fantasy. j. identifying and interpreting figurative language (e.g., idioms, similes, metaphors, personification). k. recognizing the theme of a single passage. l. reflecting upon comprehension strategies utilized to make meaning from text.

Develop appropriate information skills and study skills to facilitate learning.

a. Use and discern appropriate reference sources in various format (e.g., interviews with family and community; encyclopedias, card/electronic catalogs, almanacs, magazines, and newspapers). b. Use media (e.g., photographs, films, videos, the arts, on-line catalogs, non-fiction books, encyclopedias, CD-ROM references, internet) to view, read, and represent information. c. Use current technology as a research and communication tool for personal interest, research, and clarification. d. Understand a variety of informational texts, which include primary sources (e.g., autobiographical sketches, letters, and diaries; and internet sites). e. Utilize the dictionary, glossary, thesaurus, and other word-referenced materials. f. Skim materials to develop a general overview of content or to locate specific information.

SECTION 2: READING DEVELOPMENT

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A L I T E R A C Y R E S O U R C E K I T F O R PA R E N T S

Fourth Grade Learning Expectation

Reading Accomplishment

Develop appropriate information skills and study skills to facilitate learning, cont.

g. Retrieve, organize, and represent information (e.g., charts, maps, graphs, forms, tables, timelines). h. Develop an awareness of the effects of media (e.g., television, print materials, radio, internet, magazines) on daily life. i. Gather and record information on a research topic using two different sources.

Develop skills to facilitate reading to learn in a variety of content areas.

a. Develop and maintain vocabulary specific to content and to current events. b. Locate information using available text features (e.g., maps, charts, graphics, appendices, and tables of contents). c. Apply comprehension skills and strategies to informational text (e.g., pre-reading and active comprehension). d. Use self-correction strategies while reading (e.g., pausing, rereading, consulting other sources, asking for help). e. Determine the reliability of sources on a given topic (e.g., editorials, newspapers, magazines, biographies).

Read independently for a variety of purposes.

a. Read for literary experience. b. Read to gain information. c. Read to perform a task. d. Read for enjoyment. e. Read to expand vocabulary. f. Read to build fluency.

Experience various literary and media genres.

a. Read, view, and recognize various literary (e.g., poetry, novels, historical fiction, nonfiction) and media (e.g. photographs, the arts, films, video) genres. b. Determine the problem of a story, discover its solution, and consider alternate solutions. c. Sequence the events of a selection from beginning to end, determining how the incidents are connected and lead to a solution/conclusion. d. Identify and describe the main and minor characters, considering the importance of their actions, motives, and appearances. e. Make inferences about print and non-print text. f. Compare and contrast events and characters using evidence cited from print and non-print text(s). g. Compare and contrast different versions/representations of the same stories/ events that reflect different cultures. h. Summarize selected passages. i. Distinguish between first and third person points of view. j. Explore the concept of theme. k. Recognize and understand basic literary devices (e.g., imagery, simile, metaphor, personification).

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A L I T E R A C Y R E S O U R C E K I T F O R PA R E N T S

Fourth Grade Learning Expectation

Reading Accomplishment

Develop and sustain a motivation for reading.

a. Visit libraries/media centers and book fairs to explore books. b. Use personal criteria to select reading material (e.g., personal interest, knowledge of authors, text difficulty, text, genres, recommendation of others). c. Read daily from self-selected materials. d. Relate literary experiences (e.g., book discussions, literacy circles, writing, oral presentations, artistic expressions). e. Begin a personal reading list or reading log/journal to reflect reading progress and accomplishments. f. Experience and develop an awareness of literature that reflects a diverse society. g. Choose to read as a leisure activity.

SECTION 2: READING DEVELOPMENT

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A L I T E R A C Y R E S O U R C E K I T F O R PA R E N T S

Fifth Grade Learning Expectation

Reading Accomplishment

Continue to develop oral language and listening skills.

a. Listen attentively by facing the speaker, asking questions, and paraphrasing what is said. b. Use established rules for conversation (e.g., do not interrupt, ask questions, provide appropriate feedback). c. Understand, follow, and give oral multi-step directions that may include illustrations. d. Formulate and respond to questions from teachers and other group members. e. Participate in creative responses to text (e.g., choral reading, discussion, dramatization, and oral presentations). f. Summarize orally what has been learned or accomplished after completing an activity or assignment. g. Create and deliver an oral presentation that includes an introduction and conclusion. h. Create and deliver an oral presentation that uses visual aids or props and incorporates several sources. i. Use different voice levels and speech patterns for small groups, informal discussions, and reports. j. Interpret and use a variety of non-verbal communication techniques (e.g., gestures, facial expression, posture). k. Present and/or perform original or published literary work with a group and/or individually. l. Participate in recitations of assigned/self-selected passages.

Demonstrate knowledge of concepts of print.

a. Use parts of text (e.g., title, title page, table of contents, chapter titles, glossary, appendix, and index). b. Use common text features to enhance understanding (e.g., headings, keywords, graphics, captions, side bars, footnotes). c. Recognize different forms of text (e.g., poems, plays, drama, letters, ads, journalism, historical fiction, biographies, autobiographies).

Expand reading skills through phonemic awareness.

a. Develop awareness of the sounds of language through repeated exposure to a variety of auditory experiences (e.g., poetry, music lyrics, sound effects, books on tape, read-alouds). b. Understand rhyming patterns in printed materials. c. Respond and analyze the effects of sound in language. (e.g., alliteration, onomatopoeia, rhythm, beat).

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Fifth Grade Learning Expectation

Reading Accomplishment

Use decoding strategies to read unfamiliar words.

a. Continue to use knowledge of letter-sound correspondence and structural analysis to decode words. b. Expand understanding and use of root words, prefixes, and suffixes to decode words. c. Use syllabication to decode words. d. Understand, recognize, and use spelling patterns and word families to decode words. e. Decode unknown grade level words utilizing learned strategies and verify word meanings within the context.

Read to develop fluency, expression, accuracy, and confidence.

a. Increase confidence and poise in reading aloud (e.g., paired reading, shared reading, choral reading, echo reading, and reader’s theater). b. Read with fluency and confidence from a variety of text (e.g., poetry, drama, newspapers, novels, textbooks). c. Participate in guided oral reading. d. Read orally using appropriate pronunciation, expression, and rate. e. Adjust speed based on the purpose for reading and reading level. f. Read independently daily.

Expand reading vocabulary.

a. Build vocabulary by listening to literature, participating in discussions, and reading self-selected texts. b. Build vocabulary through frequent read alouds. c. Infer word meanings using roots, prefixes, and suffixes. d. Determine the meaning of unfamiliar words using context clues, dictionaries, glossaries, and other resources. e. Use appropriate synonyms, antonyms, and homonyms. f. Foster word consciousness (e.g., word play, word walls and word sorts). g. Use context clues and pronunciation cues when appropriate to determine the correct meaning/usage of multiple meaning words. h. Select the correct word to complete an analogy. i. Explore the impact of vocabulary in evaluating ideas, information, and experiences. j. Use word origins to determine the meaning of unknown words (e.g., Latin and Greek roots, meanings of commonly used foreign words). k. Build vocabulary by reading from a wide variety of text and literary genres.

Employ pre-reading strategies to facilitate comprehension.

a. Set a purpose for reading (e.g., to understand, to interpret, to enjoy, to solve problems, to locate specific information/facts, to discover models for writing). b. Utilize reference sources to build background for reading. c. Organize prior knowledge using a variety of strategies (e.g., webbing, mapping, brainstorming, listing, outlining). d. Explore significant words to be encountered in selected/assigned text. e. Preview text using text features (e.g., illustrations/pictures, captions, graphs, diagrams, and headings).

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Fifth Grade Learning Expectation

Reading Accomplishment

Employ pre-reading strategies to facilitate comprehension, cont.

f. Make predictions about text using text features (e.g., title, author, illustrations, and text format). g. Relate text to prior personal and historical experiences, current events, as well as previously read print and non-print media.

Use active comprehension strategies to derive meaning while reading and check for understanding after reading.

a. Derive meaning while reading by 1. formulating clarifying questions. 2. predicting outcomes based upon prior knowledge and adjusting appropriately. 3. using metacognitive and self-monitoring reading strategies to improve comprehension (e.g., rereading, identifying miscues, reading ahead, asking for help, and drawing on earlier reading). 4. creating mental images. 5. expressing reactions and personal opinions to a selection or relating the selection to a personal experience. 6. making inferences and recognizing unstated assumptions. 7. verifying or modifying the pre-reading purpose. 8. drawing conclusions based on evidence gained. b. Check for understanding after reading by 1. indicating sequence of events in fiction and nonfiction text. 2. selecting main idea and supporting details from text. 3. identifying the author’s purpose (e.g., to entertain, to inform, to explain, to persuade). 4. discussing similarities and differences in events and/or characters using evidence cited in three or more texts. 5. selecting, prioritizing, and organizing information to meet a specific purpose. 6. stating reasonable generalizations in reference to two or more pieces of text on a similar topic. 7. locating information to support opinions, predictions, and conclusions. 8. identifying cause and effect relationships. 9. distinguishing between fact/opinion and reality/fiction. 10. identifying and interpreting figurative language (e.g., idioms, similes, metaphors, hyperboles, personification, imagery). 11. recognizing a common theme between two passages. 12. reflecting upon comprehension strategies utilized to make meaning from text.

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Fifth Grade Learning Expectation

Reading Accomplishment

Develop appropriate informational skills and study skills to facilitate learning.

a. Use and discern appropriate reference sources in various formats (e.g., interviews with family, community leaders and government leaders; encyclopedias, card/electronic catalogs, almanacs, newspapers, and periodicals). b. Use media (e.g., photographs, videos, films, the arts, on-line catalogs, non-fiction books, encyclopedias, CD-ROM references, internet) to view, read, and represent information. c. Use current technology as a research and communication tool for personal interest, research, and clarification. d. Understand a variety of informational texts which include primary sources (e.g., autobiographical sketches, letters, and diaries, directions, and internet sites). e. Utilize the dictionary, glossary, thesaurus, and other word-referenced materials. f. Skim materials to develop a general overview of content or to locate specific information. g. Retrieve, organize, and represent information (e.g., charts, maps, graphs, forms, timelines, and outlines). h. Develop notes that include important concepts, paraphrase, summaries, and identification of reference sources. i. Develop an awareness of the effects of media (e.g., television, print materials, radio, internet, newspapers, periodicals) on daily life. j. Identify the techniques of propaganda (i.e., bandwagon, loaded words, testimonials). k. Gather and record information on a research topic using three or more sources.

Develop skills to facilitate reading to learn in a variety of content areas.

a. Develop and maintain vocabulary specific to content and to current events. b. Locate information using available text features (e.g., maps, charts, graphics, indexes, glossaries, and tables of contents). c. Apply comprehension skills and strategies to informational text (e.g., pre-reading and active comprehension). d. Use self-correction strategies while reading (e.g., pausing, rereading, consulting other sources, asking for help). e. Determine and evaluate the reliability of sources on a given topic (e.g., editorials, newspapers, magazines, biographies, news reports and films).

Read independently for a variety of purposes.

a. Read for literary experience. b. Read to gain information. c. Read to perform a task. d. Read for enjoyment. e. Read to expand vocabulary. f. Read to build fluency.

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Fifth Grade Learning Expectation

Reading Accomplishment

Experience various literary and media genres.

a. Read and recognize various literary (e.g., poetry, novels, historical fiction, nonfiction) and media (e.g. photographs, the arts, film, video) genres. b. Predict and determine the sequence of events in a story including possible problems and solutions. c. Identify the conflict of the plot. d. Interpret a character’s feelings and identify his motives. e. Trace changes in the main character and describe how this affects the plot. f. Make inferences about print and non-print text. g. Identify how culture, ethnic, and historical eras are represented in print and non-print texts. h. Compare and contrast events and characters using evidence cited from print and non-print text(s). i. Compare and contrast different versions of the same stories/events that reflect different cultures and/or different perspectives. j. Summarize selected passages. k. Retell a story from a different point of view. l. Understand the way in which figurative language is used to derive meaning from text (e.g., personification, simile, metaphor, imagery, hyperbole).

Develop and sustain a motivation for reading.

a. Visit libraries/media centers and book fairs to explore books. b. Use personal criteria to select reading material (e.g., personal interest, knowledge of authors, text difficulty, text, genres, recommendation of others). c. Read daily from self-selected materials. d. Relate literary experiences (e.g., book discussions, literacy circles, writing, oral presentations, artistic expressions). e. Maintain a personal reading list or reading log/journal to reflect reading progress and accomplishments. f. Experience and develop an awareness of literature that reflects a diverse society. g. Choose to read as a leisure activity.

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Helping Your Child Choose the Right Book

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hildren need to learn how to select a book. First of all, offer them a few books to choose from. Don’t give them too many to choose from at once because this can be overwhelming. Model how you pick a book, look at the cover, flip through the book, look at the illustrations, and read the back cover to see if you’d like to read more. Be sure to show them there are many ways to choose.

Model how you pick a book. Look at the cover, flip through the book, look at the illustrations, and read the back cover to see if you’d like to read more.

Model how all children read differently. Some like to read the pictures, and this is fine. Some are able to read some of the words, using the pictures; this is also fine. Some children will be able to read text and of course this is fine too. Simple methods for choosing books a child can read: 1. FIVE FINGER RULE Teach your child the fivefinger rule. When he opens to any page in the book selected and attempts to read it: • if he misses five or more words, the book is a challenge for him. • if he doesn’t miss any words, the book is a breeze. • if he misses a few words, it’s just right. It’s a challenge that will help him improve but won’t frustrate him.

Adapted from readinglady.com

2. THE “GOLDILOCKS” METHOD Is this book too easy, just right, or too hard? Too Easy • Have you read it lots of times before? • Do you understand the story very well? • Do you know almost every word? • Can you read it smoothly? Just Right • Is the book new to you? • Do you understand a lot of the book? • Are there just a few words per page you don't know? • When you read, are some places smooth and some choppy? Too Hard • Are there more than 5 words on a page you don’t know? • Are you confused about what is happening in most of this book? • When you read, does it sound pretty choppy? • Is everyone else busy and unable to help you?

l

• For students who have reading difficulties, ask the librarian for books that are “high interest, low reading level” choices. It is important for older students to be able to have books with the same “topics” as their peers, but are written at a reading level that is appropriate for them. • See the tab on special needs for some specific strategies to use for students with visual impairments. • Visit the Assistive Technology Center nearest you to see what types of interactive books and specific technology is available to assist your child with special needs. These centers are listed in the resource section. Additional assistive technology ideas and websites are listed in the resource section as well.

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Reading Suggestions

Find out what your children like to do and what they are interested in, and allow them to select some books for themselves.

T

he following lists of books were compiled by the Association for Library Service for Children. The books are listed by age, but your child may enjoy books from a lower or higher age. If you are reading the book to your child, you could select a book from a higher age list, but if your child is reading on his own, he may need to choose from a lower age list. These lists include a selection of books your children might find enjoyable, but these are certainly not the only books your children should read. Find out what your children like to do and what they are interested in, and allow them to select some books for themselves. The school librarian, local librarian, and teachers are all good sources for reading ideas.

Appropriate Books for Children Ages 3-5 Albourough, Jez

Where’s My Teddy?

In rhyming text, Eddie’s in for a big surprise when he discovers that his teddy bear has grown much too big to cuddle. Then Eddie meets up with a real bear who’s got just the opposite problem—his lost teddy bear has shrunk to a size much too small for such an enormous bear to cuddle.

Allard, Harry

Miss Nelson Is Missing!

The kids in Room 207 take advantage of their teacher’s good nature until she disappears and they are faced with a substitute, Miss Viola Swamp, their worst nightmare.

Barrett, Judith

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

In the town of Chewandswallow, the food is delicious and arrives with the Weather until the weather takes a turn for the worse.

Brett, Jan

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

A lavish retelling of an old favorite about a curious girl who makes herself at home in an empty cottage, only to be discovered by the three bears that live there.

Bridwell, Norman

Clifford the Big Red Dog

Emily Elizabeth introduces her enormous pet.

Burton, Virginia Lee

Katy and the Big Snow

Bright, vigorous pictures show Katy, a beautiful red crawler tractor, as she plows snow for the Highway Department.

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Appropriate Books for Children Ages 3-5 Burton, Virginia Lee

Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel

Mike Mulligan proves that Mary Ann, his faithful old steam shovel, can work just as well as the fancy new machines.

Carle, Eric

The Mixed-Up Chameleon

Chameleon’s life is not very exciting until the day he discovers he can change not only his colors, but his size and shape.

Carle, Eric

The Grouchy Ladybug

A grumpy ladybug challenges everyone she meets regardless of their size.

Carle, Eric

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

A beautifully illustrated counting book about a caterpillar turning into a butterfly.

Fleming, Denise

In the Tall, Tall Grass

Rhyming text tells of the creatures to be found in the grass.

Guarino, Deborah

Is Your Mama a Llama?

Rhyming story that allows the friends of Lloyd, the llama, to describe their mamas.

Keats, Ezra Jack

Whistle for Willie

Peter learns how to whistle.

Lionni, Leo

Frederick

While the other mice are gathering food for the winter, Frederick daydreams the summer away. But when dreary winter comes, it is Frederick, the poet, who warms the hearts of his friends with his words.

London, Jonathan

Froggy Gets Dressed

Froggy discovers snow! He wants to go out and play but his sleepy mother tells him that frogs are supposed to sleep all winter. Froggy insists and off he goes, but only after his mother has dressed him properly for the cold weather.

McCloskey, Robert

Blueberries for Sal

Sal and her mother set off in search of blueberries before winter comes. At the same time a cub and mother bear are searching for food for the winter. A comedy of errors ensues when the young ones wander off and trail the wrong mothers.

Sendak, Maurice

Where the Wild Things Are

A naughty little boy, who is sent to bed without his supper, sails to the land of wild things where he becomes their king.

Shaw, Nancy

Sheep in a Jeep

Rhyming tale of the adventures a group of sheep encounters while riding a jeep.

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Appropriate Books for Children Ages 3-5 Walsh, Ellen Stoll

Mouse Count

A hungry snake finds ten little mice and counts them into a jar for dinner. But the clever mice soon outwit the snake and “uncount” themselves—until they have all gotten away.

Williams, Vera

More, More, More Said the Baby: Three Love Stories

Williams’ award-winning style captures the warmth and humor of three different babies and the adults who adore them. A multi-cultural story.

Ziefert, Harriet

Bob and Shirley: A Tale of Two Lobsters

Based on a true story, Bob and Shirley are two huge lobsters caught in a net and end up in a tank in a fish store window until some concerned humans picket the store.

Appropriate Books for Children Ages 6-11 Adler, David

Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Dinosaur Bones

Cam (short for “Camera”) Jansen has a photographic memory—which comes in handy when she notices something wrong at a museum exhibit.

Atwater, Richard

Mr. Popper’s Penguins

Mr. Popper’s life is changed forever when he receives an unexpected delivery of an Antarctic penguin.

Butterworth, Oliver

The Enormous Egg

Nate discovers a gigantic egg laid by one of the family’s hens. However, Nate is unprepared for what hatches out. A triceratops?!!

Cleary, Beverly

Ramona Quimby, Age 8

Ramona enters third grade with humorous results.

Dahl, Roald

James and the Giant Peach

An old man gives James a bag of dark green crystals with a promise. Unfortunately, James accidentally drops them near the peach tree, which grows to the size of a house. When he crawls inside, a magical adventure begins to take place, changing his life forever.

Dahl, Roald

Matilda

Matilda overcomes the woes of idiot parents and a menacing school headmistress to help her wonderful teacher, Miss Honey.

Erickson, John R.

The Original Adventures of Hank the Cowdog

Hank is a scruffy, smart-alecky super sleuth with a nose for danger and an eye for the ladies.

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Appropriate Books for Children Ages 6-11 Fitzhugh, Louise

Harriet the Spy

A story about an intensely curious and intelligent girl named Harriet, who loves to spy on people, keeping her observations in a secret notebook. When Harriet’s classmates discover it and begin reading her candid comments about them, she soon finds her world turned upside down.

Gardiner, John Reynolds

Stone Fox

A 10-year-old boy is pitted against an Indian with a formidable reputation in a Rocky Mountain dogsled race. An emotional and exciting book.

Heide, Florence Parry

The Day of Ahmed’s Secret

Young Ahmed goes through his day in the crowded city of Cairo, all the while treasuring a special secret that he will share with his family that night.

Henkes, Kevin

Chrysanthemum

Chrysanthemum hates her long, unusual name—until her teacher makes her see how special it is.

Howe, Deborah

Bunnicula

When a baby rabbit comes into the family, Chester the cat decides it is a vampire and tries to warn his family.

Howe, James

Pinky & Rex

Best friends, Pinky and Rex, visit the museum with Pinky’s pesky little sister, Amanda.

Hurwitz, Johanna

Aldo Applesauce

Aldo moves to a new school and learns how to make new friends.

Lawson, Robert

Ben and Me: a New and Astonishing Life of Benjamin Franklin as Written by His Good Mouse Amos

In this humorous tale, readers will discover that while Ben Franklin received considerable credit for many inventions, it was really Amos, a less-than-humble rodent, who originated these discoveries.

Lowry, Lois

Anastasia Krupnik

Anastasia experiences an eventful 10th year.

MacDonald, Betty B.

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's cures continue to delight children.

Marshall, James

Fox in Love

Fox falls in love (several times) and enters a dance contest.

MacLachlan, Patricia

Sarah, Plain and Tall

A warm and beautiful pioneer story.

Minarik, Elsa

A Kiss for Little Bear

The animals in the forest carry a thank-you kiss to Little Bear from his Grandmother.

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Appropriate Books for Children Ages 6-11 Lobel, Arnold

Frog and Toad are Friends

Frog and Toad share adventures of stories, lost buttons, and letters.

O'Brien, Robert C.

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

Mrs. Frisby, a widowed mouse with four young children, is faced with a big decision—how to move her children safely from their summer quarters immediately or be faced with certain death. She consults the Rats of NIMH, who devise a brilliant plan of action.

Palatini, Margie

Piggie Pie

A romp through Old MacDonald’s farm as Greedy Witch tries to capture some piggies to make Piggie Pie, her favorite dish.

Parish, Peggy

Amelia Bedelia

The results are hilarious when Amelia Bedelia follows directions and takes literal-minded action.

Parish, Peggy

Amelia Bedelia & Baby

Amelia Bedelia babysits with hilarious results.

Polacco, Patricia

Mrs. Katz and Tush

Ms. Polaco uses a skillful blend of multi-ethnic cultures and plot to tell about the kitten Mrs. Katz and Larnel care for together.

Polacco, Patricia

Just Plain Fancy

The Amish live a plain life and do not hold with anything fancy. When Naomi's chickens hatch a “fancy” chick from an abandoned egg, she is concerned that the chick is “too fancy” to be Amish.

Pilkey, Dav

The Adventures of Captain Underpants

Humorous fast-paced adventure featuring an unusual super hero.

Ringgold, Faith

Aunt Harriet’s Underground Railroad in the Sky

In a blend of fantasy and fact, a young girl follows Harriet Tubman and an escaping band of slaves on a remarkable journey along the Underground Railroad.

Rylant, Cynthia

Henry and Mudge: the First Book of Their Adventures

Part of an easy-to-read series, Henry, feeling lonely on a street without any other children, finds companionship and love in a big lovable 180 pound dog named Mudge.

Waber, Bernard

Ira Sleeps Over

When Ira sleeps at his best friend’s house, he is reluctant to let his friend know about his teddy bear, but he discovers his friend has a bear of his own.

White, E.B.

Charlotte’s Web

Wilbur the pig is saved because of Charlotte’s care in this heart-warming fantasy.

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Appropriate Books for Children Ages 6-11 Scieszka, Jon

The True Story of the Three Little Pigs as Told by A. Wolf

The story of the three little pigs told from the wolf’s viewpoint.

Appropriate Books for Children Ages 12-14 Armstrong, William N.

Sounder

The story of a dog who tries to save his master, a black sharecropper who has been driven to steal for his family’s survival, from arrest, and a boy who loves them both.

Babbit, Natalie

Tuck Everlasting

Ten-year-old Winfred Foster and a malicious stranger both accidentally discover the Tuck family and their secret, a hidden spring whose water prevents one from ever growing older.

Catling, Patrick

The Chocolate Touch

A boy acquires a magical gift: everything he touches turns to chocolate!

Cooper, Susan

The Boggart

After returning from a trip to Scotland, two school children find out they’ve brought something extra home with them.

Fleischman, Paul

Bull Run

Northerners, Southerners, generals, couriers, dreaming boys, and worried sisters describe the glory, the horror, the thrill, and the disillusionment of the first battle of the Civil War.

George, Jean Craighead

Julie of the Wolves

Julie must find a way to survive in the harsh Alaskan tundra and the nearby wolf pack may be her only hope.

Haddix, Margaret Peterson

Running Out of Time

When a diphtheria epidemic hits her 1840s village, thirteen-year-old Jessie discovers it is actually a 1995 tourist site under unseen observation by a heartless scientist, and it’s up to Jessie to escape the village and save the lives of the dying children.

Hamilton, Virginia

The House of Dies Drear

Thomas Small discovers a secret in his family’s home, which was once a stop on the Underground Railroad.

Henry, Marguerite

Misty of Chincoteague

A brother and sister are determined to own one of the ponies their father helps to round up on Chincoteague Island.

Hesse, Karen

Sable

Tate has always wanted a dog, and when Sable shows up, her dream comes true. Will problems with the neighbors keep Tate and Sable apart?

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Appropriate Books for Children Ages 12-14 Konigsburg, E.L.

The View From Saturday

An academic competition brings four students together, and each tells the unlikely story of how they got there.

L’Engle, Madeleine

A Wrinkle in Time

Classic adventure in space and time.

Lewis, C.S.

The Chronicles of Narnia

Four children travel repeatedly to a world in which they are far more than mere children and everything is far more than it seems.

Mead, Alice

Junebug

Living in the projects, Junebug must somehow withstand the daily pressures of drugs and gangs while still holding onto his dream of sailing.

Namioka, Lensey

Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear

Yang is the only one in his entire family to be totally lacking in musical talent. He faces the agony of music lessons every day, when all he really wants to do is play ball.

Patterson, Katherine

Jacob Have I Loved

While everyone adores and admires her twin sister, Sara Louise overcomes her jealousy and finds her own identity and inner strength.

Raskin, Ellen

Westing Game

A millionaire’s mysterious death, a fortune to inherit, and an unlikely assortment of heirs—can you figure out the mystery?

Rawls, Wilson

Where the Red Fern Grows

Having purchased two dogs for fifty dollars, young Billy is determined to create the valley's best hunting team. Follow the friendship of a boy and his two dogs and their adventures along the dark hills and river bottoms of Cherokee country.

Rowling, J.K.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Harry’s a perfectly ordinary boy in a perfectly ordinary school—except for the fact that he happens to be a wizard and his classes include Transfiguration and Potions!

Spinelli, Jerry

Maniac Magee

Jeffrey Lionel “Maniac” Magee, a twelve-year-old homeless boy, could hit a ball better and faster than anyone in Two Mills. Even more remarkable, he dares to cross the line that divides the white West End and the black East End, confronting prejudice and racism head on.

Wojciechowska, Maia

Shadow of a Bull

Manolo Olivar demonstrates true courage as he faces his bull and makes his decision.

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SECTION 3: ACTIVITIES FOR BUILDING READING SKILLS

Building Literacy into Everyday Activities

L

iteracy is used during day-to-day activities to help adults and children “get things done”… like drawings or writing to communicate; keeping records; making lists; reading and following directions, on prescription bottles and instructions, doing math at the grocery store, and sharing stories and messages through conversation. Family literacy is family learning and involves everyone in your family. Everyday activities are a great way to learn. It doesn’t take a lot of time and the payoffs are big. Family literacy is as important as anything else you do in your life.

Everyday activities are a great way to learn. It doesn’t take a lot of time and the payoffs are big. Family literacy is as important as anything else you do in you life.

Get cooking! Make daily tasks a time for learning. Planning a menu or grocery list with your child is family literacy. Turn everyday chores into family learning…and get things done! • Read a cereal box or milk carton at breakfast. • Clip coupons. Talk about how much a coupon saves. • Use a newspaper or thermometer to check the weather … Figure out what to wear today. • Calculate how many gallons of gas your car needs and how much it will cost to fill it up. • Use laundry time for math and science activities like measuring detergent and folding towels into equal halves, thirds or fourths. • Write notes to put in backpacks and pockets. A kind word or funny joke lets children know you care. • Compare food labels in the grocery store. Whose favorite item has the most nutrition?…the least fat?…the most salt? That’s entertainment! Use your imagination. Jazz up family time…You might find hidden talents! • Make your own musical instrument out of things around the house (rubber bands, cardboard, glasses, spoons …) Adapted with permission from Connecticut Family Literacy Initiative SECTION 3: ACTIVITIES FOR BUILDING READING SKILLS

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• Draw what you did today. • Create a family talent show, skit or play. • Watch a movie and talk about it. Be your own movie critic and develop a family rating system. • Sing a good morning song. • Plan a family outing to a zoo, concert or museum. Check local newspapers or magazines for ideas.

• Read about your favorite animals or artists at the local library or the internet. • Use a fun book to set the stage for a family meal. When was the last time you had green eggs and ham for dinner or made Mickey Mouse pancakes? Make a game of it! Family literacy should be fun. Games are everywhere! Try something new for the whole family so everybody learns. • Plan a fantasy vacation. Look at maps, travel books and magazines. • Follow your favorite sport. Look up your team’s scores in the newspaper. Turn down the sound on the TV and try your own “play-by-play.” • Bring out the old favorites. Play cards, board games, 20 questions, or hang-man. Make up a jump-rope game or draw a hopscotch board. • Make your own crossword puzzles, word searches, and word jumbles. • Take a walk around the neighborhood. Read the street signs, and make a map when you get home. • Play bank, store or restaurant using bank deposit slips, coupons, or empty food containers. Children learn that all careers use reading and writing. Talk it up! Keep the conversations going. Focus on positive comments. Talking about things other than the “here and now” helps children’s brains grow. • Read the TV guide and plan a schedule together. Talk about what you like and don’t like about a program. 44

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• Make a family scrapbook, photo album or memory box. Tell stories about your family history and how they came to Tennessee. • Tell a story about your day over dinner. What is the best thing that happened today?…the funniest? • Read a story together as a family and take turns reading sections. • Talk frequently with your child’s teacher about school goals and activities, and your child’s progress. • Work with your child to set goals for academic, social and emotional growth. • Talk with your children about their activities and friends. Parent involvement helps keep children in school and off drugs. Don’t forget the basics! Family literacy is not just about kids but about adults too! • Get a good night’s sleep and be ready for school, work, and family life. • Let children see you reading. You are their model. • Get a library card for every member of the family and use it! Libraries have lots of fun family programs. • Read many different things—catalogs, menus, signs and other everyday items. • Keep a variety of writing materials around the house – markers, pens, pencils, old greeting cards, envelopes and note pads. It’s okay for you and your children to use a computer or typewriter to write. • Give books as presents so books become special and pleasurable. • Spend time with each child every day. Do things together and talk about them: shopping, walks, zoos, museums, preparing meals, concerts, worship services, library, sports, and hobbies. • Listen to your children so that you learn about their lives and show that you are interested in them. • Display children’s work in a prominent place to make them feel good about themselves. • Show children you value their efforts and that what they do is important. Tell your kids that they have done a good job and you may hear the same from them someday.

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Activities to help children learn, organize, plan, etc. As a parent, you can help your child want to learn in a way no one else can. That desire to learn is a key to your child’s later success.

T

he following pages are filled with activities that you can do with your child to help build the skills, attitudes and behaviors needed for school success. There is no one “right” way to do the activities. You should make changes and shorten or lengthen them to suit your child’s attention span. You might want to use them as a starting point for some activities of your own. If you don’t have some of the resources listed for an activity, remember that most public libraries offer free use of books, magazines, videos, computers and other services. Other things that you might need for these activities are not expensive. Keep in mind, however, that children don’t always learn the same things at the same rate. Some of these activities may work better for younger children while others may be more appropriate for older children. You are the best judge of what your child may be ready to try, so if you think it may work for your child, try it. As a parent, you can help your child want to learn in a way no one else can. That desire to learn is a key to your child’s later success. Enjoyment is important! So, if you and your child don’t enjoy one activity, move on to another. If your child becomes bored or frustrated by an activity, leave it! Don’t spend more time on an activity than your child can tolerate. Five minutes of fun and enjoyment will help your child more than fifteen minutes of frustration. You can always return to any activity later on. Activities adapted from Schwab Learning www.Schwablearning.org/25 Fun Ways and READ*WRITE*NOW! Activities for Reading and Writing Fun —http://www. ed.gov/Family/RWN/Activ97/young.html

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Story Map

Title:

____________________________________________________________________________

Main characters:

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Setting:

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____________________________________________________________________________

Problem:

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Resolution:

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Venn Diagram The Venn Diagram is made up of two or more overlapping circles. In language arts instruction, Venn Diagrams are useful for examining similarities and differences in characters, stories, poems, etc. It is frequently used as a prewriting activity to enable children to organize thoughts or textual quotations prior to writing a compare/contrast essay. This activity enables students to organize similarities and differences visually.

Book One Title

Different

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Book Two Title

Similiar

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Name ______________________________________________________________ Date_________________________

KWL Chart Before you begin your research, list details in the first two columns. Fill in the last column after completing your research. Topic ______________________________________________________________________ What I Know

What I Want to Know

What I Learned

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l

Being able to identify how things are alike and different and to place objects and ideas into categories are important school skills that are used in almost every subject area.

ACTIVITY 1:

It’s a Match Sorting and classifying helps your child to pay attention to details and recognize how things are alike and different.

What You Need • Dishes, flatware, glasses • Laundry

What to Do • As you empty the dishwasher or wash and dry dishes, ask your child to make stacks of dishes that are the same size, to put glasses that are the same size together and to sort forks, knives and spoons. • As you empty the clothes dryer, ask your child to match pairs of socks or to put all white things together, all blue things and so forth.

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ACTIVITY 2:

❋

Let’s Read

When reading is a regular part of family life, parents and families

Reading is the single most important way for your child to develop the knowledge needed to become successful in school.

send their children a message that it is important, enjoyable and a great way to learn.

What You Need • Children’s books that your child can read • Books of riddles, tongue twisters and silly rhymes

What to Do • Read with your child. Take turns, with you reading one page or paragraph and your child reading the next. You might also read the parts of different characters in a story. Be enthusiastic about reading. Read the story with expression. Make it more interesting by talking as the characters would talk, making sound effects and using facial expressions and gestures. Encourage your child to do the same. • Help your child to read new words by having him use what he knows about letters and the sounds they make to sound out the words. • If he is unsure of the meaning of a word, help him to use the surrounding words or sentences to figure it out. If this doesn’t help, just tell him what the word means and keep reading. After reading, revisit unfamiliar words. Share other words with similar meanings. • Buy a children’s dictionary—if possible, one that has pictures next to the words. Then start the “let’s look it up” habit.

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❋ Writing helps children to organize their thoughts and gives them an important way to communicate with others.

ACTIVITY 3:

Author! Author! Reading and writing support each other. The more your child does of each, the better he will be at both.

What You Need • Pencils, crayons or markers • Writing paper • Cardboard or heavy paper • Construction paper • Safety scissors • Yarn or ribbon

What to Do • Write with your child. Talk with him about your writing so that he begins to understand that writing means something and has many uses. • Hang a family message board in the kitchen. Offer to write notes there for your child. Be sure that he finds notes left there for him. • Help your child write notes or e-mails to relatives and friends to thank them for gifts or to share his thoughts. Encourage the relatives and friends to answer your child. • Assist your child in creating his own personal stationary. This is a great way to increase your child’s interest in letter writing. • Help your child to turn his writing into books. Paste his drawings and writings on pieces of construction paper. Have him make a cover out of heavier paper or cardboard, then add special art, a title and his name as author. Punch holes in the pages and cover and bind the book together with yarn or ribbon.

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ACTIVITY 4:

Divide and Conquer Just about anything is easier to do if it’s divided into smaller pieces. As your child’s assignments get more complicated, she needs to acquire more planning skills.

❋ Learning to see assignments or big jobs in small pieces can make them less overwhelming for a child.

What You Need • Homework assignments. Chores, Paper, Pencil

What to Do • Have your child choose a big homework assignment to talk about, such as a geography project. Sit with her and help her to make a list of what she needs to complete the job. For example: Reference materials (books, maps) Ask: Can you complete the assignment by just using your textbook? If not, do you need to go to the library? If so, can you check out books or will you have to allow time to stay there and use reference books? Can you use computer Web sites? Do you have the addresses for approved sites? Do you have a notebook to take notes? Pencils? Finished project Can you do this assignment on a computer? Will you need to staple the pages together? Do you need a report folder or cover? Do you need to draw pictures or make charts? Can you use computer graphics? • Help your child to decide the order in which the parts of the job need to be done. Have her number them. To help her estimate how long each part of the assignment will take, tell her to work backward from the date the assignment is due. Have her figure out how much time she’ll need to complete each part. Have her write down start and finish dates next to each part. • Together, think about a household job, such as cleaning out a closet or mowing the yard. Help your child to divide it up into smaller parts. • Talk with your child about how you divide work at your job or at home. SECTION 3: ACTIVITIES FOR BUILDING READING SKILLS

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❋ Children can be confused by money. Some might think that

ACTIVITY 5:

Making Money

the larger a coin is the more

Help your child learn about money.

valuable it is—so a penny or

What You Need

nickel would be more valuable than a dime. Playing counting games at home can be valuable in helping children deal with numbers and math concepts in school.

• Dice • Pennies, nickels, dimes

What to Do • This is a good game to play with the family. Have each player roll the dice and say the number. Then give the player that number of pennies. • When a player gets five pennies, replace the pennies with a nickel. When he gets ten pennies, replace them with a dime. • The first player to reach the set amount—25 or 50 cents, for example—wins.

❋ Being on time or not being on time affects other people. It is important for children to understand their responsibility for being on time—it’s not just for grown-ups.

ACTIVITY 6:

Time Flies “I don’t have time to do that!” Sound familiar? Planning time is one of the most useful things that your child can learn. Knowing how long something will take can save time and prevent temper tantrums.

What You Need • Paper and pencil • Clock • Calendar

What to Do • Together with your child, write down estimates of how long it takes each of you to do certain task (such as getting ready for school or work in the morning; ironing a blouse, making toast). Use a clock to time at least one of these tasks. Then take turns timing each other. (Be realistic—it’s not a race.) • Talk with your child about what part of a job can be done ahead of 54

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time, such as deciding at bedtime what to wear to school the next day and packing her backpack before going to bed and placing it in a designated place until morning. • Talk about at least two places that you and your child go where you must be on time. What do you do to make sure you are on time?

ACTIVITY 7:

❋

Homework Made Easy

Children need to know that their family members think

A homework chart can show your child exactly what he needs to do and when he needs to do it.

homework is important. If they know their families care, children have a good reason to

What You Need

complete assignments and

• Poster board, large sheet of sturdy paper, or dry erase board • Marker, pen or pencil, and clock

to turn them in on time.

What to Do • Help your child to create a homework chart* like the following out of a large piece of sturdy paper: Subject Language Arts Social Science Math Science

Monday











Tuesday

Wednesday Thursday

• After school each day, have your child put a check mark in each box in which there is a homework assignment. Circle the check when you have seen that the homework is completed.

Friday

* Depending on how many subjects your child has, he may be able to put three or four weeks on each piece of paper.

• Tell your child to try to figure out how long it will take him to complete each homework assignment so that he will be able to schedule his time.

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ACTIVITY 8:

Building Stories Stories are built in much the same way that houses are. Just as houses have floors, walls, and a roof, stories have some basic parts. Every story has characters (the people or animals in the story), a setting (the time and place the story occurs), a problem (a difficulty that the character(s) have to overcome and solve), and a resolution (a solution to the difficulty or problem). Knowing the parts of a story helps children understand the whole story.

What You Need • A brief story or a fable

What to Do • Choose a short story, fable, or fairy tale for your child to read. You may want to read the story ahead of time to make sure it works for this activity. • Make an outline on lined paper with the following parts (as shown on next page): — Title — Main characters — Setting — Problem — Resolution • Ask your child to read part of the story and to identify the character(s). Say, “Is Molly a character in the story? Is she a main character? Yes, the story is mostly about Molly and her science project. Let’s write that on the sheet where it says main character.” • Then ask your child to tell you where and when the story takes place (a town or city, state or country, today or in the past). This is the setting of the story. • Then, after your child reads about half of the story, stop and say, “What is the problem the main character of this story is facing or having? Let’s write that on the sheet where it says problem.” • When your child finishes the story, ask the child how the problem in the story was worked out. Say, “That is the resolution (solution) of the story. Let’s write that on the sheet.”

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ACTIVITY 9:

In Laughing Order: The Comic Strip When children read about events, they must keep the major actions in order. Children can develop a sense for order while reading comic strips.

What You Need • Your child’s favorite comic strip.

What to Do • Find a comic strip that you and your child enjoy. Before reading the strip, cut it out and separate the frames. Mix them up and ask your child to put the frames in the correct order. Once they are in order, have your child read the comic strip and tell you what the strip means or what it is saying.

ACTIVITY 10:

Play-doh Alphabet and Numbers Children often learn more quickly when they use their fingers and hands. Use store-bought play-doh or make your own, and ask children to shape it into letters and numbers. Spell names and words with the letters, and use the numbers to add and subtract. To make your own homemade version of playdoh, mix the following: 2 cups flour 1 cup salt 1-1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar 1-1/2 tablespoons oil 2 cups colored water (use food coloring to make it the desired color)

Add 2 cups colored water (add as much food coloring as you wish). Cook over a low heat stirring constantly until it turns into playdoh. Form into a ball. Cover while it cools or it will dry out. Store in a covered bowl. An empty margarine or dessert topping container is perfect.

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ACTIVITY 11:

Word a Day Journal Learning about words is important to learning inside and outside school. The more words a child knows, the more the child will learn.

What You Need • A newspaper, magazine, or book • Notebook

What to Do • Have your child find a word in a newspaper, magazine, or book that he or she does not know and has not seen before. For example, your child may not know the word foretell (meaning “to predict or tell beforehand,” as in, “The woman in red could foretell the future”). • Your child might also find a word that is familiar but used in a new way. For example, the word boat means a small vessel used for getting around by water. However, when boat is used in the sentence, “The people were all in the same boat,” it means “faced with the same problems.” • Ask your child to listen for a new word in everyday talk or look for a new word in the newspaper. Have your child find a new word or an old word used in a new way each day. Ask your child to keep track of the words in a special notebook. • Include a page for yourself in your child’s special notebook to keep a record of new words you are learning. This is a great way to let your child know that learning never stops.

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ACTIVITY 12:

My Turn, Your Turn— Our Story Writing stories is fun, but it really comes alive when your child creates and writes a story with you. Making up or creating stories is a very good vocabulary building activity. For the younger child, let him create the story while you write in the child’s words.

What You Need • Paper • Pencil • Story title

What to Do • Create or choose an exciting title for a story you would like to write with your child, such as “The Golden Eye” or “Suddenly Midnight and Silence.” Write the title on a sheet of paper and invite your child to write the first sentence. You write the second line. Take turns writing sentences until the story is complete. • When the story is finished, invite the family to a story-reading session, or read the story to the family during dinner.

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ACTIVITY 13:

A Notebook of Sounds Create an alphabet of pictures with your child.

What You Need • Magazines • Scissors • Glue • Large paper • Hole-punch • Binder

What to Do Choose a letter sound and ask your child to cut out pictures of things that begin with that sound. Have her glue the pictures onto paper. Label the page with the letter that makes that sound. For example, the page titled “Pp” might include pictures of a pig, a pencil, or a pipe. Use a hole-punch to make holes and put the pages into a binder. ACTIVITY 14:

Scavenger Hunt Turn a popular game into a real reading adventure.

What You Need • Household items • Paper • Pen • Reward

What to Do Make a checklist of things for your child to find around the house. Include simple household items like: • A can of vegetables starting with the letter “B” • Something in the garage with a “T” in its name Set a time limit and see how many items on the list your child can find. Be sure to reward him regardless of how many items he actually finds. 60

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ACTIVITY 15:

Penpals All kids love getting mail! Letters from pen pals give them reading materials to look forward to.

What You Need • Writing/mailing materials or email access.

What to Do Recruit a family member or friend to write or email letters to your child on a regular basis. Ask the letter writer to include lots of questions for your child to answer: What was the best thing that happened to you this week? How is the family pet doing? Have you read any good books lately and what were they about? Ask your child to read the letters to you out loud and encourage him to respond within a week’s time. For younger children, read the letters aloud and ask them to dictate their responses to you. Make sure that the child’s pen pal can maintain his commitment to keeping the correspondence going for as long as your child can. ACTIVITY 16:

Vocabulary Squares Create building blocks for a better vocabulary.

What You Need • Scissors • Glue • Large paper

What to Do Take 15 index cards or cut out small squares from construction paper and write a noun, adjective, adverb, or a connecting word (e.g, she, happy, gently, went, and) on each one. If you have different colored paper, use a specific color for each type of word (i.e, yellow for nouns, purple for verbs, etc.). Give your child some blank cards and ask her to construct sentences with the words provided; have her use the blank cards to add words. As your child gets older, the words become more complex. For younger children, cut out pictures and glue them to each card. Be creative. There is always a new story to tell. SECTION 3: ACTIVITIES FOR BUILDING READING SKILLS

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ACTIVITY 17:

Market March Turn grocery shopping into a match game.

What You Need • Paper • Pencil • Coupons

What to Do Ask your child to help you make out a list of items you need from the market. Whenever possible, specify the brand names of the products to add complexity. For example, ask her to write “Starkist®” or “Chicken of the Sea®” rather than simply saying “tuna fish.” This will encourage her to read the labels rather than just identify the item by location or packaging. When you are at the store, have your child read the labels and match them to the items on your list. If you use coupons, have her match them to the items, as well.

ACTIVITY 18:

Dictionary Game It’s never too early to teach your child how helpful a dictionary can be.

What You Need • Writing materials • Pen or pencil • Dictionary

What to Do In a group, have one person choose a word out of the dictionary without telling anyone the definition. Start with the “A” section. Have everyone else in the group either guess out loud, write down or illustrate what they think the mystery word means and then share the answers to see who comes closest to guessing the actual definition of the mystery word. Take turns looking up words, moving through each letter of the alphabet. 62

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ACTIVITY 19:

Treasure Hunt Help your child uncover treasures through reading.

What You Need • Pen or pencil • Small pieces of paper • Tape or tacks • Reward or treasure

What to Do Hide your treasure/reward somewhere in the house. Write down instructions to a location in the house on individual pieces of paper and hide them, as well. Each clue should direct your child to another hiding place until she finally finds the treasure. For example, direct your child to the refrigerator door, where the following clue is taped, “Look behind the blue chair in the living room.” The clue behind the blue chair might read, “Nice start, now look under your bed.” In the beginning, keep the clues simple. As your child’s vocabulary increases, make the clues more difficult.

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ACTIVITY 20:

Family Reading Time Reading can be fun for the whole family.

What You Need • Books • Newspapers • Magazines • Comics

What to Do Set aside 20 minutes two or three times a week when the whole family can come together and spend time reading mail, books, magazines, catalogs—whatever you enjoy—to show that reading is a necessary skill for everyone. Each family member might want to keep a journal to record what has been read and their responses and reactions.

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ACTIVITY 21:

Hot! Hotter! Hottest! Reward your child for his growing interest in reading.

What You Need • Paper or poster board • Colorful markers or crayons

What to Do Help your child choose a goal, such as reading five “fat” books over the summer. Help him reach that goal by taking him to the library to select and borrow books. Encourage him to read a variety of books— poetry, fiction, nonfiction, picture books, chapter books…. Draw a goal chart in the form of a thermometer. Track your child’s progress by filling the “mercury” of the thermometer as he takes steps toward reaching his goal, with points marking “hot,” “hotter,” and “hottest.” Choose a reward and give it to your child when the mercury reaches the “hottest” section of the thermometer.

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ACTIVITY 22:

Site Word Lists Of all the words used in school books, library books, newspapers, and magazines, between 50-75% are in the Dolch Basic Sight Vocabulary of 220 words (preschool thru Grade 3). The Dolch word list is made up of “service words” (pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and verbs) which cannot be learned through the use of pictures. The following pages have lists of words separated by grade level. You can cut words out and glue to cardboard or construction paper, or use them as they are. Use the words as flashcards or in the game suggestions included here. You can use the plastic letters included in your toolkit to have children match those letters with the letters in the words. Have children begin slowly and work their way through the lists. Have fun! ACTIVITY 23:

Sight Word Games: Which Word Wins? Through this game, your children will learn to recognize and read sight words.

What You Need • newspaper • highlighter • word list

What to Do Sit with your child and look at a newspaper to see just how often sight words pop up in print. Ask your child to choose a sight word from the list and an article from the newspaper. Look for the word together. Highlight and count the word each time it appears. Try the same thing with a second sight word. Which word appears more often? ACTIVITY 24:

Make Up Sentences This is another game to help your child recognize sight words. Make flash cards out of sight words by gluing words to index cards.

What You Need • Sight word flash cards • Paper and pen or pencil

What to Do Have your children use the flash cards to make sentences. Ask them to write the sentence down and draw a picture of it so you can see they know what it means. 66

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Kindergarten Sight Words

all ate but eat have must on pretty say that too well who

am be came four he new our ran she there under went will

are at black brown did do get good into like no now out please ride saw so soon they this want was what white with yes

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Grade One Sight Words



after again an as ask by every fly from giving had has him his how know let live of old once over put round stop take thank then think walk when

any could give her just may open some them were

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Grade Two Sight Words

always before call fast gave made pull sit these use why write

around because been best both buy cold does don't first five found goes green its many off or read right sing sleep tell their those upon us very wash which wish work would your

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Grade Three Sight Words



about better bring clean cut done drink eight fall full got grow hot hurt if kind laugh light much myself never own pick seven show six small ten today together warm

carry draw far hold keep long only shall start try

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ACTIVITY 25:

Tic Tac Toe Through this game, your children will learn to recognize and read sight words.

What You Need • Chalk board, dry erase board or paper • Colored pens, chalk or crayons

What to Do For a small group of children, allow them to play tic tac toe with colored pencils on paper. Before a child can place an “x” or an “o” on the grid, he must read or spell a sight word correctly.

ACTIVITY 26:

Make Up Sentences II Help your child recognize sight words in the signs he sees all around him.

What You Need • Your child and you

What to Do The next time you’re going somewhere with your child, play a sight word game. It’s easy—just have your child find as many sight words as he or she can spot on billboards, signs, and so on. If you don’t have a sight word list with you, invite your child to read the “little” words. You can play this game in a car, on a walk, even in line at the grocery store!

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Activities to Go Along With Books in SIG Kit The following activities extend the learning that takes place with the two books included in the toolkit. 1. Surprising Sharks by Nicola Davies http://homeschooling.about.com

Paper Shark

Here is what you do: Make this great looking shark by just folding a 12 by 12 inch square of paper. Turn the square so that one corner is at the bottom. Fold the two sides into the center so that it looks like a kite. (see picture)  Fold the kite shape in half to make the shark. Fold the front corner in about two inches to flatten the nose. Fold the back corner up about 6 inches to form the tail. Add eyes and other details with a marker. Glue on a strip of white rick-rack for some very sharp looking teeth. You might want to try decorating the shell of your shark a different way. Yikes! Keep your fingers away from his mouth!

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Ocean Diorama http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/Oceandiorama.shtml Create your own ocean scene in a box. Just print out sharks and whales, draw some seaweed, corals, and your favorite fish. Paste, color, cut, hang them in a decorated box, and enjoy the ocean. Supplies needed: • paper animals • a shoe box or slightly larger box • crayons and/or markers • tape • thread • scissors • optional: pipe cleaners (great for seaweed and coral), glitter (for great bubbles), thin cardboard to glue to the back of the animals if your paper is very flimsy (old cereal boxes work well) Steps: • Find a box at least as big as a shoe box—a slightly bigger box works even better. This will be the stage containing your ocean scene. • Decorate the inside of the box to look like it's underwater. Draw the water, the ocean floor, rocks, coral, seaweed, fish, an octopus, bubbles, scuba divers, a submarine, etc. Glitter makes a wonderful addition - just sprinkle some on a little glue. • If your paper is very flimsy and you think your animals may bend too much, paste the template onto thin cardboard (like an old cereal box). Let the paste dry.

• Using crayons or markers, decorate the animals and plants. Also, draw and decorate your own seaweed, corals, and favorite fish. Green construction paper cut in squiggly strips makes nice seaweed. • Cut out the animals and plants. • Hang the fish and whales in the box using tape and thread. Tape your seaweed and coral to the bottom of the box. Green and brown pipe cleaners also make nice plants. • Enjoy your ocean diorama!

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Fish Mobile Cut out a fish shape and glue on the decorations or paint. This can be done on both sides and hung on string to be used as a mobile. Use a coat hanger to make the mobile frame! Enchantedlearning.com

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More Books About Sharks Fiction: The Great White Man-Eating Shark: A Cautionary Tale (Picture Puffins) by Margaret Mahy Shark Who Was Afraid Of Everything by Brian James Non Fiction: All About Sharks (All About... (Scholastic)) by Jim Arnosky Encyclopedia Prehistorica Sharks and Other Sea Monsters: The Definitive Pop-Up (Sabuda Encyclopedias) by Robert Sabuda Hungry, Hungry Sharks (Step-Into-Reading, Step 3) by Joanna Cole Scholastic Q & A: What Do Sharks Eat For Dinner? (Scholastic Question & Answer) by Melvin Berger Shark (DK Eyewitness Books) by DK Publishing The Best Book of Sharks (The Best Book of) by Claire Llewellyn Activity Books: Everything Kids’ Sharks Book: Dive Into Fun-infested Waters! (Everything Kids Series) by Kathi Wagner Shark Stencilling Book: Learn How To Draw Sharks and Discover Shark Facts At Your Fingertips by Lucy Bater Uncover a Shark (Uncover Series) by David G. Gordon

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Shark Cartooning Monterey Bay Aquarium

“Shark School of Art” Activity Sheet Now it’s your turn to make a cartoon. Below are some simple panels to start with. You can make your own panels and fill them with cartoons on another piece of paper. Use them to tell a story about the need for saving sharks or some or the misconceptions people have about sharks. Shark drawing tips! Think of

Cartoon parts:

the shark you are drawing as a collection of shapes.

words

thoughts panels

circles

characters ovals

triangles and others!

Some ideas for a shark cartoon… • Falling coconuts kill more people each year than shark attacks • Most sharks are killed solely for their fins, while the remaining parts of the bodies are thrown overboard as waste. © Monterey Bay Aquarium

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Activities for Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco Read the book Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco. This story is the semi-autobiographical account of a young girl’s struggle to learn to read. For more background about the author and the book, you may wish to refer to the author’s description of the book on PatriciaPolacco.com. Before Reading Before reading the book with your child, ask these questions: • Have you ever really wanted to learn to do something? How did you do it? Was it easy or difficult? • If it was difficult, how did you feel? Were you able to do it? Who or what helped you? Who or what didn’t help you? • What do you think this book might be about?

During Reading As you read the story aloud, ask your child to think about the following questions. This will help your child see connections between self and story. • Are you similar or different from the main character, Trisha? • Does the story remind you of anything that has ever happened to you? • Tell me about Trisha. • Does Trisha still feel bad about herself? What has happened to change the way she feels? • What has happened to change the way Trisha feels?

After Reading Discuss the story. Ask questions like these: • Did any of your predictions come true? • How does this story make you feel? • Have you ever felt good or bad about yourself because of what someone else said or did? Complete the character chart on the next page for two characters in the story.

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Character Comparison Sheet Name ____________________________________ Title and Author ___________________________________________________________________ Character 1:

Character 1:

CHARACTER SIMILARITIES

CHARACTER SIMILARITIES

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Changing Feelings When you are finished, ask your child to think of one or two words that describe Trisha at various stages throughout the story. Examples include: • At the beginning of the story: hopeful, eager, excited • At the middle of the story: sad, insecure, a failure, no confidence • At the end of the story: happy, confident, proud, intelligent Themes One of the themes of this story is the way we can make people feel about themselves by what we say. Challenge your child to make thematic connections by identifying the supporting evidence from the text for this theme. Help extend the thematic connections to the child’s own life by responding to the following questions: • Who are the important people in your life? • How do the important people in your life make you feel? How do they do that? • What do they say? Things You Can Say Chart Have your child make a chart entitled “Things You Can Say To Make People Feel Good About Themselves” to post in his bedroom. Have him add to it as he thinks of new ideas. Vocabulary Vocabulary is an important part of reading. Becoming familiar with new words helps us to increase our knowledge and to better understand what we are reading. When you come across new words in a book, ask your child what he thinks the word means, or help him figure it out through the context of what is happening in the story or by looking the word up in a dictionary. The following words may be new to your child in the book, Thank you, Mr. Falker. knowledge miracle memorable drizzled teasing bully twilight ladle cunning elegant disability 94

the state of being aware of something or having information an extremely outstanding or unusual event, thing, or accomplishment worth remembering to let fall in very small drops or very lightly to make fun of or to annoy continually a person who teases, hurts or threatens the period of light from the sky between full night and sunrise or between sunset and full night a spoon or dipper with a long handle cleverness marked by deception and trickery tasteful, refined any conditions that interfere with a person’s ability to learn basic academic skills

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Other Books by Patricia Polacco If your child enjoys a book, take her to the library and find other books like the one you read. Patricia Polacco has written many other books your child might enjoy. Something about Hensley

Babushka’s Mother Goose

Rotten Richie and the Ultimate Dare

Babushka’s Doll

Emma Kate

My Ol’ Man

Mommies Say Shhh

My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother

An Orange for Frankie

Pink and Say

John Philip Duck

Tikvah Means Hope

Oh Look!

Babushka Baba Yaga

The Graves Family

The Bee Tree

“G” is for Goat

Picnic at Mudsock Meadow

Christmas Tapestry

Mrs. Katz and Tush

When Lightning Comes in a Jar

Chicken Sunday

Mr. Lincoln’s Way

Some Birthday!

Betty Doll

Appelemando’s Dreams

The Butterfly

Uncle Vova’s Tree

Luba and the Wren

Just Plain Fancy

Welcome Comfort

Boat Ride With Lillian Two Blossom

Mrs. Mack

Thunder Cake

Thank You, Mr. Falker

The Keeping Quilt

In Enzo’s Splendid Gardens

Casey at the Bat

The Trees of the Dancing Goats

Rechenka’s Eggs

I Can Hear the Sun: A Modern Myth

Meteor!

Aunt Chip and the Great Triple Creek Dam Affair

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SECTION 4: WORKING WITH TEACHERS AND SCHOOLS

Working with Teachers and Schools

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arents provide the primary support for, and are the main source of information about, their children. Sharing information with your child’s teacher is an important part of helping him to succeed in school. Sharing goes both ways—it’s essential for you to provide information about your child with his teachers and for teachers to share what they know about your child with you. By creating a team around your child, parents and teachers are better able to help a child grow and develop. It’s the responsibility of both teachers and parents to make this happen! Following are some tips for working with your child’s teachers and other school staff. • Learn everything you can about your child’s school. The more you know, the easier your job as a parent will be. If there is a student handbook, be sure to read and discuss it with your child. • Ask if the school has a Web site and, if so, get the address. School web sites can provide you with real access to all kinds of information—schedules of events, names of people to contact, rules and regulations, and so forth. • If your schedule permits, attend PTA or PTO meetings. • Talk with your child’s teacher early and often. Contact your child’s teacher or teachers at the beginning of the year or as soon as you can. Get acquainted and show your interest.

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Tell teachers what they need to know about your child. If your child has special needs, make these known from the beginning. See the enclosed booklet, “All About Me.”

• If you notice a big change in your child’s behavior, school performance, or attitude during the school year, contact the teacher immediately. • If you notice your child is having trouble with a school subject, contact the teacher to find out how you can help. Sometimes you may see a problem before the teacher sees it.

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• Don’t go to the principal without first giving the teacher a chance to work out the problem with you and your child. • Find out if your child’s teacher uses email to contact parents. Email allows you and the teacher to communicate at times convenient for each of you. • If you disagree with a decision at school concerning your child, do not “bad mouth” the school in front of your child. Talk with the proper people at school immediately, and be open and honest. Adapted from U.S. Department of Education Publications

Parent-Teacher Conferences Do you look forward to conferences or do you dread them? Most parents and teachers have the same goal in mind – the child’s success. Conferences can be a good opportunity to share information about your child. Following are some tips for successful parent-teacher conferences. • Believe that the teacher wants to help you and your child, even if you disagree about something. • Be prepared to listen as well as to talk. It helps to write out questions before you leave home. Also jot down what you want to tell the teacher. • If you don’t understand something the teacher is saying, tell her. Sometimes teachers forget that parents are not familiar with some educational lingo. • If English is your second language, you may need to make special arrangements, such as including in the meeting someone who is bilingual. • Tell the teacher if you think your child needs special help, and about any special family situation or event that might affect your child’s ability to learn. Mention such things as a new baby, an illness, or a recent or upcoming move. • Talk about your child’s talents, skills, hobbies, study habits, and any special concerns, such as sensitivities about weight or speech difficulties.

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• Ask about specific ways to help your child at home. Try to have an open mind. • At home, think about what the teacher has said and then follow up. If the teacher has told you that your child needs to improve in certain areas, check back in a few weeks to see how things are going. • If you don’t agree with a teacher’s policy, don’t argue with the teacher in front of your child. Set up a meeting to talk about the issue. Try to be positive and remain calm. • If the teacher’s explanation doesn’t satisfy you, arrange to talk with the principal or even the school superintendent. Do not feel intimidated by titles or personalities. You are important to your child! • If at all possible, do not bring other children to the conference. You will want to give your total attention to the child who is the focus of the conference. • If both parents are involved in the child’s life, both should make arrangements to attend. It will send a loud and strong message to the child concerning the importance of school. Adapted from Reading Rockets (2004), www.readingrockets.org/ Adapted from U.S. Department of Education Publications

Helping Your Child Prepare For Tests Testing comes easily for some students but worries others. There are ways to help your child prepare for tests. • Talk to your child about testing. It’s helpful for children to understand why schools give tests and to know the different kinds of tests they will take. Explain that tests are yardsticks that measure how teachers teach and how well students learn what has been taught. • Encourage your child. Praise her for the things that she does well. If your child feels good about herself, she will do her best on a test. Children who are afraid of failing are more likely to become anxious when taking tests and more likely to make mistakes.

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• Make sure that your child attends school regularly. Remember, tests reflect children’s overall achievement. The more effort and energy your child puts into learning, the more likely it is that he will do well on tests.

If your child has a special need, find a place to get the training you need to assist him or her. For example, sign language may help a non-verbal child to be understood. See Section 5 for more ideas.

• Provide a quiet, comfortable place for studying at home and make sure that your child is well rested on school days and especially on the day of a test. Children who are tired are less able to pay attention in class or to handle the demands of a test. • Don’t get upset because of a single test score. Many things can influence how your child does on a test. Remember, one test is simply one test. • Don’t place so much emphasis on your child’s test scores that you lose sight of her well-being. Although you want her to do her best, too much pressure can affect her test performance.

Most importantly, stay involved! • Attend school events. Go to sports events and concerts, attend back-to-school night, parent-teacher meetings and awards events. • If time permits, volunteer. Look for ways to help out at your child’s school. Schools often send home lists of ways in which parents can get involved. • Even if you can’t volunteer to do work at the school building, you can help your child learn when you’re at home. The key question is, “What can I do at home, easily and in a few minutes a day, to reinforce and extend what the school is doing?” This is the involvement that every family can provide. Adapted from U.S. Department of Education Publications

Homework Let your child know that you think education is important and so homework has to be done. Here are some ways to help your child with homework: • Have a special place for your child to study. The homework area doesn’t have to be fancy. A desk in the bedroom is nice, but for many children, the kitchen table or a corner of the living room

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works just fine. The area should have good lighting and it should be fairly quiet. Provide supplies and identify resources. Have available pencils, pens, erasers, writing paper and a dictionary. If possible, keep these items together in one place. • Set a regular time for homework. Having a regular time to do homework helps children to finish assignments. You’ll need to work with a young child to develop a schedule. You should give your older child the responsibility for making up a schedule independently— although you’ll want to make sure that it’s a workable one. • Remove distractions. Turn off the TV and discourage your child from making and receiving social telephone calls during homework time. (A call to a classmate about an assignment, however, may be helpful.) If you live in a small or noisy household, try having all family members take part in a quiet activity during homework time. You may need to take a noisy toddler outside or into another room to play. • Don’t expect or demand perfection. When your child asks you to look at what she’s done—from skating a figure 8 to finishing a math assignment—show interest and praise her when she’s done something well. If you have criticisms or suggestions, make them in a helpful way. • Monitor and help your child understand homework assignment, but don’t do it for him. That’s his job. • Ask your child’s teacher if she uses a homework hotline that lists what homework your child has each night.

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If your child has special needs, ask his teacher to modify assignments so the child can participate.

One final note: You may be reluctant to help your child with home-

work because you feel that you don’t know the subject well enough or because you don’t speak or read English as well as your child. But helping with homework doesn’t mean doing the homework. It isn’t about solving the problems for your child, it’s about supporting him to do his best. You may not know enough about a subject to help your child with a specific assignment, but you can help nonetheless by showing that you are interested, helping him get organized, providing a place for the materials he needs to work, monitoring his work to see that he completes it and praising his efforts. Adapted from U.S. Department of Education Publications

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Report Card Checklist Report card time is fun for students who earn good grades, but it can be a worry for those who struggle in school. How can you support your child’s efforts when he doesn’t do as well as either of you had hoped? Try to keep his grades in perspective and be supportive of his efforts. • Ask for a schedule of dates when report cards will be sent home. • Read the teacher’s comments to inform you of the shades of accomplishment within the black-and-white world of numbers and letters. • Compare and contrast. Pull out past report cards and see what has changed. A “Satisfactory” or C grade may be a significant improvement from an earlier streak of “Below Expectations” or D grades and should be recognized. • Identify subjects your child thrives upon and those that give him trouble. • Praise the positive. Congratulate your child not only on A’s but also on getting better grades in subjects he has difficulty with. Ask him what grade he is proudest of and why. • Discuss successes and challenge your child to explain how he got a good grade. It’s easy to ask “what’s wrong?” when looking at an “Unsatisfactory” but it may be far more useful to ask “What went right?” for a good grade. • Don’t yell or blame your child for low grades when talking about problem areas. Focus on discussing the class itself. Ask her if the work was too difficult or the class went too fast. If she says she was bored or “hated it,” find out if she thought the class was too easy, and talk to the teacher. • Create a plan to maximize future success. Ask about homework. Does your child have enough time to complete it, or are extracurricular activities taking up too much after-school time? Is he distracted from completing work at home? If he doesn’t have a special homework area, spend some time creating a study space. • Contact the teacher if anything is unclear or if you need suggestions on how to help your child improve. Adapted from U.S. Department of Education Publications

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Additional Resources for Parents Helpful and Interesting Websites: http://www.earlyliterature.ecsd.net/ Early Literacy Telecollaborative Project: A compilation of research, strategies, and resources for teachers and parents! http://www.nea.org/readacross/resources/ parents.html National Education Association: How parents can help at home to improve child’s reading skills. http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/ publications/html Go to Reading section and click on the desired information. http://www.readingrockets.org/families Help your child become a good reader and watch for signs of trouble. http://www.scholastic.com/families/matters Scholastic Book company site. http://pdskids.org/lions/ Stories, games, and activities for kids and information for parents and teachers. http://www.pbs.org/parents/ PBS Website offers games and activities as well as information for parents about child development, math, reading, and much more.

http://www.starfall.com/ Wow! This site has lots of information about reading, including fun activities about holidays. Books for Parents http://www.reachoutndread. org/resources Fox, Mem. Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever. New York: Harcourt, Inc., 2001. Haas, Monty and Haas, Laurie Joy. Read it Aloud! A Parent’s Guide to Sharing Books with Young Children. Natick, MA: The Reading Railroad, 2000. Hearne, Betsy, with Deborah Stevenson. Choosing Books for Children: A Commonsense Guide. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1999. Lewis, Valerie V. and Walter M. Mayes. Valerie & Walter’s Best Books for Children: A Lively, Opinionated Guide. New York: Avon, 1999. Lipson, Eden Ross. New York Times Parent’s Guide. Rev. ed. New York: Times Books, 2000. Rath Linda K. and Kennedy, Louise. The Between the Lions Book for Parents. New York: Harper, 2004. Trelease, Jim. The Read-Aloud Handbook. New York: Penguin Books, 2001.

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Tennessee Parent Information and Resource Center The mission of the Tennessee Parent Information and Resource Center (TPIRC) is to provide training designed to enable parents of preschool and school-aged children, particularly those who are economically and/ or educationally disadvantaged, to effectively help their children achieve developmental goals and meet the educational standards that have been established for children and to enable schools, particularly Title I schools, to effectively involve parents in their programs and activities that lead to improvements in student academic achievement. This Center will provide information, education, training, peer mentoring, and consultation to parents, other caregivers and youth, as well as training and consultation to school personnel that will address the seven issues stated above. In addition, the TPIRC will coordinate and be a clearinghouse for training EAST TN Knoxville Area: Telephone: 865-609-2490 Fax: 865-609-2543

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efforts occurring in Tennessee for parents/caregivers, teacher/parent collaboration, and school/family collaboration, providing a centralized location where parents can find the information and services they need or be linked or referred to them across the state. Furthermore, TVC, in collaboration with the Vanderbilt University Center for Health Services, will develop and implement an early childhood parent education program. The project will target families that are economically and/ or educationally disadvantaged in Title I schools that are defined as needing improvement or restructuring by the No Child Left Behind Act and by Tennessee Code Annotated 49-602. In collaboration with Johns Hopkins University, the TPIRC will use the National Network of Partnership Schools model to assist LEAs and schools in developing and maintaining successful Parent/School/ Community Partnerships.

MIDDLE TN 1315 8th Avenue South Nashville, TN 37203 Telephone: 615-269-7751 Fax: 615-269-8914 TN Toll Free: 800-670-9882 E-mail: [email protected]

WEST TN Jackson Area: Telephone: 731-660-6365 Fax: 731-660-6372

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SECTION 5: SPECIAL NEEDS AND DISABILITIES

Special Needs and Disabilities

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his section of the toolkit has been added as a resource for parents whose children have special needs, whether those needs be physical, emotional, or cognitive. The first part is a list of general guidelines for coping with various disabilities; these guidelines will help families, teachers, and others who work with children who have disabilities ranging from mild struggles to significant impact.

Special thanks to Dr. Clarissa Willis of ETSU and Karen Harrison of STEP for their contributions to this section of the Toolkit.

The second part highlights the idea that incorporating reading into your child’s educational objectives is a worthwhile objective for all children, and its aim is to help families whose children face severe obstacles. The information contained in this section can help you to be an advocate for your child. Finally, at the end of this section you will find additional resources to help you find the answers to other questions you may have. We hope you find this publication helpful in assisting you to understand and help your children in their efforts to grow.

Part I: General Guidelines for Children With Special Needs The following information was written by Dr. Clarissa Willis, who is a professor at East Tennessee State University (ETSU). Dr. Willis is a member of the SIG team, and wrote this information for a book written and published by SRA, a division of McGraw Hill, who granted us permission to adapt the article for this publication. The academic citation is listed at the end of the article. All children have strengths and weaknesses, and all children can learn. However, some children learn in ways that are different than their peers. Often, these children are said to have developmental delays. The term developmental delay is used because it is often unknown SECTION 5: SPECIAL NEEDS AND DISABILITIES

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whether the delay is short-term and can be corrected with intervention or if the delay is long-term. Whatever the outcome, children with developmental delays, whether physical, emotional, or cognitive, often learn at a slower pace than their peers and need extra practice in order to learn new concepts. Quality early learning experiences and intervention by professionals can result in some children reaching developmental milestones and “catching up” with their peers. However, other children will have life-long challenges that result in the need for special education services and adaptations throughout their lives. Children with developmental delays come from all types of backgrounds. Sometimes, a child may have a recognizable disability such as Down syndrome or a hearing aid. Other children may not have been diagnosed with a specific condition or syndrome and may physically look exactly like their peers. In other cases, the child may be at risk for a disability because of his environment or a chronic health condition such as ear infections or a depressed immune system. Regardless of the type of developmental delay, there are five things to remember: 1. With careful planning, modifications, and persistence, all children can learn and participate in everyday routines and activities. 2. While special adaptations may be necessary in order to participate, research tells us that children learn best in natural environments with typically developing peers. 3. Always put the child first and the disability second. For example, don’t refer to a child as the “deaf boy” say “Jim, a child with a hearing loss.” 4. Remember, parents can be the best source of information about a child and her unique problems. 5. Each child is unique. However, there general characteristics associated with the most common types of developmental delay, and the charts that follow this section list those traits. Depending on the type and severity of the disability, a child might exhibit one or more of these characteristics. The following guidelines can be useful for parents, teachers, and any other people working with children who have developmental delays and disabilities. Share these guidelines with anyone who is working with your child to help them to understand the difficulties your child may be experiencing. 106

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Characteristics and General Strategies for Children With: Cognitive Challenges

• Require extra practice and need extra time to learn new concepts. • Become upset when a routine is changed or varied. • May require that the same thing be taught over and over, before she understands it. • Need new concepts and activities broken down into smaller steps. • Become easily frustrated and give up, when she thinks she cannot do something as well or as quickly as others. • Have trouble generalizing information across settings and environments. • Often forget something that was introduced previously (especially, over the weekend or a holiday) and need extra practice to remember how to do it. • May not be able to communicate feelings or desires. • Have trouble making friends and playing with others

Suggestions

• Present new concepts in short segments and use as many of the child’s senses as possible. Review often and offer multiple opportunities to practice. • Place picture cards showing each part of the routine in a prominent place in your classroom. Let the child know what is going to happen next, by pointing to the picture. • Tell her before the routine is changed. If there is going to be a special program or a change in the routine, tell the child before it happens, then remind her right before it is time to change. • Plan activities that encourage opportunities to practice a new concept over and over. • Use short sentences when explaining something new. • Concentrate on what the child can do, rather than what she cannot do. • Help everyone who works with the child understand that she may not learn something in the same way or as quickly as others, but that she can and will learn. • Model positive interactions such as sharing a toy or participating in a game. • Encourage the child to attempt an activity, even if it is difficult. If the child cannot participate fully, let her partially participate.

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Characteristics and General Strategies for Children With: Vision Loss

• Learn best through their other senses and will learn faster when something is presented with touch, smell, or sound. • Need to be able to hear what is being said or described, since this is the sense they depend on the most. • Often use touch to learn about someone. Teach peers to use “soft touches,” and to let the child get to know him by gently touching his face. • Can manage easily in a familiar environment, but often becomes upset when something new, like a new piece of furniture, is added or moved within the environment. • May require that print material be presented in large type. • Require extra time in a new environment to get to “know” where things are. • Whenever possible, place items for each center in the same location each day, so that children who are blind learn where they can expect to find familiar objects. • Learn the proper way to assist a child who is blind. (Touch him lightly on the arm to indicate you are addressing him; next, offer your arm for them to grip just above the elbow. Keep your guiding arm straight, with your fingers pointing toward the ground. This means the person you’re guiding will be a half-step behind you and will be able to detect any body movements that indicate a turn or a step.) • When you approach a blind or partially-sighted child, remember that he probably won’t be aware of your approach. Never grab someone’s arm before you speak, as this might frighten him.

Suggestions

• Provide the child with time to experience new concepts by touch or sound. • Help the child orient to new concepts by giving her/him a frame of reference, such as, “yesterday we talked about things we eat for breakfast. Today, we are going to talk about things we eat for lunch.” • If the child has some vision present, line drawings with a minimum of background clutter work best. For example, a simple line drawing of a cow is easier to see than a farm scene with a barn and many animals. • Tell the child when something new is added or taken away from the classroom. Give him time to explore it before other children so he is not afraid. • If the child has peripheral vision, make sure he is seated so that his peripheral vision is optimized and that lighting is appropriate and does not cause a “glare” effect. • Help him explore the environment with touch. • After you learn the proper way to walk with and address a child who is blind, play games with other children where they take turns walking with the child. Teach the children to use soft touches on the arm or shoulder, before they speak to the child.

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Characteristics and General Strategies for Children With: Hearing Impairments

• Depend on vision to learn new concepts. • Will understand LESS, not more, when you exaggerate your lip movements or speak overly loud. • Should always be seated where they can see the teacher’s face. • Often pretend to understand something by nodding their heads. • May depend on sign language as a method of communication. • May benefit from amplification devices such as an auditory trainer or a hearing aid. • Have difficulty with abstract concepts such as differentiating between “catch a ball” and “catch a cold.”

Suggestions

• Use visual representations to teach new concepts such as picture cards that show what to do first, second, etc. • If the child has some residual hearing, ask the child questions to see if she understood what you said. • Use normal vocabulary but be prepared to restate, point to, or demonstrate new concepts. • Make sure the child understands you by asking her to repeat what you just said or show you what you just asked her to do. • If the child wears a hearing aid or an auditory trainer, keep extra batteries on hand and be aware that some children remove their hearing aids and can lose them during outside play. • If the child depends on sign language to communicate, learn signs, especially name signs, so she can feel like part of the class when you introduce everyone. • Whenever possible, introduce abstract concepts with pictures. • When using a cassette player for music, sit the child next to it and allow her to feel the vibrations by laying her hand on top.

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Characteristics and General Strategies for Children With: Delayed Physical Development

• Require proper positioning, in order to be physically comfortable enough to learn new concepts. If the child is uncomfortable s/he will not be able to concentrate. • May fatigue more quickly because it takes more effort to accomplish a motor task. • Are not slow or mentally challenged. Don’t assume that a motor impairment means that the child has a mental impairment as well. • Can usually “partially participate” in most activities with simple adaptations. • May require assistive technology such as specially made materials or an electronic communication device to perform everyday tasks.

Suggestions

• Often have difficulty completing tasks that require eye-hand coordination. • Consult with the physical or occupational therapist and learn what simple adaptive devices, such as pencil grips or clothespins that are used to help turn pages, will help the child. • Change the child’s position often, so he doesn’t become uncomfortable. • Allow time for the child to rest if he becomes tired or fatigued by a new task. • Look at ways to adapt simple activities such as using making crayon grips out of sponge hair rollers. • Make it easier to interact with peers by providing areas for sitting or resting on the floor.

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Characteristics and General Strategies for Children With: Behavioral/ Social/ Emotional Problems

• Often find new activities overwhelming and react with a violent outburst. • May have trouble concentrating when information is presented in large chunks. • May be unable to finish a task that requires intense concentration. • Feel that they are too stupid to learn new things so they won’t even try rather than experience failure. • May try to hurt themselves (such as self-biting or head banging), when they become frustrated. • Can become over-stimulated by noise and light and may need time and a place to “calm down.” • May not understand the emotions, feelings, or needs of others and may act inappropriately such as laughing when another child gets hurt. • Have trouble with simple social skills such as turn-taking or saying hello. • Sometimes react violently to changes in routines or activities that are unexpected.

Suggestions

• Most behavioral problems take place during transitions. Prepare for transitions. • Present new information in short segments and break it down into manageable steps. • Praise the child often when she accomplishes something new or stays on task for a given amount of time. • If you see that the child is getting frustrated or upset by an activity, “redirect” her to something that is less stressful. • Teach the child to accept natural consequences for her actions. If she tears up the artwork she has started then she doesn’t get to work in the art area for a while. • Learn to read the child’s body language. When she appears to be getting frustrated or agitated, change the task or set up a “calm-down” place in your room (this is where you can still see the child but where the lighting is soft and she can go and rest before rejoining the group). • Don’t overwhelm the child with too many choices. Begin by offering two choices, then build up to more. • Keep an eye on the child, especially if she hurts other children. If you see her raise a hand, as though she is getting ready to hit another child, take the child’s hand in yours and redirect her to another location. • Recognize that if the child laughs when someone falls down and gets hurt it is because children with behavior issues may not understand the feelings of others. Consistently model the appropriate way to respond when someone is hurt or unhappy. • To help the child adjust to changes in the daily routine, use a prompt such as a bell, small buzzer, or wind chimes (not too loud), to signal it is almost time for a change. • Plan smooth transitions, by teaching the “hands-at-home.” As they transition from one activity or environment to the next, tell the children to keep their hands at home, either by their sides or crossed in front of them. SECTION 5: SPECIAL NEEDS AND DISABILITIES

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Characteristics and General Strategies for Children With: Speech and Language Delays

• Often do not understand what is being said, especially if you use long sentences. • Need help in naming common objects and/or activities. • Sometimes require an alternative method of communication such as a communication board. • Do not understand simple directions. • Become frustrated if their speech is not understood by others. • Will sometimes resort to tantrums out of a frustration to be noticed and understood. • May not participate at all because he does not understand how to respond or what is required.

Suggestions

• Use simple sentences and ask the child to tell you what you just said. • Describe what is happening and what is going on in the classroom. • Use pictures as clues to what you are saying. • If you do not understand what the child is saying, DO NOT look away or act frustrated, as this only makes the child more anxious. Ask the child to repeat what he has said once, and then try asking questions to help you understand what he is asking or saying. • When the child starts to cry or throw objects, try to verbalize what is happening, “Eric, you are upset because you did not want to stop building with the blocks.”

Willis, C. (2005). Lesson adaptations for children with disabilities. Worthington, OH: A part of the DLM-Early Childhood Express Curriculum published by SRA, a division of McGraw Hill.

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Quick Information about RTI (“Response to Intervention”) (http://www.nasponline.org/advocacy/rtifactsheets.aspx)

The Responsiveness to Intervention (RTI) process is a multi-tiered approach to providing services and interventions to struggling learners at increasing levels of intensity. RTI can be used for making decisions about general, compensatory, and special education, creating a well-integrated and seamless system of instruction and intervention guided by child outcome data. RTI calls for early identification of learning and behavioral needs, close collaboration among teachers and special education personnel and parents, and a systemic commitment to locating and employing the necessary resources to ensure that students make progress in the general education curriculum. RTI is an initiative that takes place in the general education environment. School personnel can play a number of important roles in using RTI to identify children with disabilities and provide needed instruction to struggling students. These roles will require some fundamental changes in the way general education and special education engage in assessment and intervention activities. Collaborative roles vary with the settings and experiences of those involved. Parents also need to know how an RTI process may help their child and be informed that at any time they may request a formal full evaluation to determine eligibility for special education. As a school-wide prevention approach, RTI includes changing instruction for struggling students to help them improve academic skills and behavior. To meet the needs of all students, the educational system must use its collective resources to intervene early and provide appropriate interventions and supports to prevent learning and behavioral problems from becoming larger issues. To support these efforts, the Individuals with Disabilities

Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA 2004) gives more financial flexibility to local education agencies (LEAs). Students who are not achieving when given high quality instruction may have a disability. RTI may be used as part of a process to identify students with specific learning disabilities rather than relying on the use of a discrepancy model as a means of identification. Universal Themes of RTI include:

• RTI is an initiative for all education, cutting across general ed, compensatory ed, and special ed. It can create a well-integrated and seamless system of instruction and intervention guided by child outcome data from frequent progress monitoring. • In RTI, research-based instruction and intervention are provided by qualified personnel, and are implemented with fidelity and integrity at the needed level of intensity to address the student’s individual difficulties. • RTI is not owned by any one profession—effective models require authentic collaboration among administrators, educators, related services personnel and parents. • RTI provides opportunities for all team members to expand their traditional roles and responsibilities, to engage in a broader array of service delivery options, and to take on new leadership opportunities. This will require systemic change in allocation of resources when conceptualizing personnel workloads.

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• There is no “one size fits all” model for RTI. The federal government purposely provided few details for the development and implementation of RTI procedures, stating specifically that states and districts should be given the flexibility to establish models that reflect their community’s unique situation. • RTI involves a shift from traditional psychometric standardized approaches to assessment to a more pragmatic, educationally relevant model focused on measuring changes in individual performance over time. This includes moving away from a “within child” deficit paradigm to a contextual perspective with greater emphasis on instructional intervention and progress monitoring prior to special education referral.

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• Involving parents and engaging them in a collaborative manner is critical to the successful implementation of RTI. Informed and involved parents are better equipped to support and reinforce academic and behavioral interventions at home. In addition, parents should be informed that they still have the right to request a special education evaluation for their child at any time. • RTI approaches show promise for closing the achievement gap and for reducing disproportionality in special education for all student groups.

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Part II: Suggestions for Parents of Children With Significant Disabilities The previous guidelines and suggestions were written for families of children with varying degrees of disability. Some children have moderate disabilities and are able to participate in typical classroom settings with little or no change required to the teacher’s regular teaching activities. However, some children have more severe disabilities, and need more adjustments made to help them learn. Parents of children with special needs, particularly those children with significant disabilities may wonder, “Because he has special needs, does that mean my child shouldn’t be working on reading skills?” Parents whose children have more severe disabilities often need to take advantage of opportunities that will help make others aware of what will help their children; they need to take on the role of advocating for their children and informing others. Every child has the right to an education, including reading instruction. Federal laws require that ALL students: • Have access to the general curriculum based on State Standards • Be educated using peer-reviewed research based practices “to the extent practicable” Therefore, parents of children with severe disabilities may need to advocate for their child to receive the reading instruction they deserve and that will help them to increase their literacy skills. Advocating for Your Special Needs Child

Many exciting educational advances have occurred over the past few years that can enable children to grow toward their full potential. Schools have made much progress in efforts to include all children in instructional activities that address their unique needs and capabilities. Parents have been

at the forefront of advocating these changes, becoming full partners with schools so that the interests of all children are served. Parents have learned that the following knowledge is essential in order to effectively advocate for their children. • Know the language of the laws, regulations and policies and practices related to your child’s education. • Know the questions that are important to ask, that will lead in helpful directions in advocating for your child. • Know how to find the answers through use of multiple resources. • Know how to include Literacy/Reading on the IEP (Individualized Education Plan).

Literacy for Students With Significant Disabilities

Even though your child has significant special needs, literacy and reading should be part of his or her school work. However, some accommodations may be needed, and not every child will be able to learn the same material in the same way. Reading is a complex process, and not ALL students with disabilities will master ALL components of reading or will have difficulty in the same area. For example, a student with Central Auditory Processing Disorder or other communication disorder may have difficulty with phonics. A student with Cerebral Palsy might not be a fluent oral reader. Even if your child has significant disabilities, he or she should receive literacy instruction based on state standards and the general curriculum. Modifications to the curriculum may be made,

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and accommodations granted to ensure the most learning takes place. Literacy for students with significant disabilities can mean: • Recognizing pictures or common words • Choosing books to be read • Showing awareness of being read to • Paying attention to the reader • Tracking print • Physically interact/explore text • Being aware of commonly used symbols • Following instructions that are read, heard, or viewed • Demonstrating knowledge of objects or actions connected to stories or songs Literacy instruction in children with significant disabilities has much in common with literacy instruction in typically-developing children. Research has identified six factors that promote learning by students with significant disabilities. (1) A knowledgeable teacher or aid is essential. Parents can help by sharing all they know about the student…likes and dislikes, interests, skills mastered. If certain ways of instruction have been especially helpful in the past, share that information, too. (2) A way to communicate or interact with the student is fundamental. Assistive technology to help teachers and students communicate should be employed if needed. (3) Teachers must promote cognitive engagement, not just participation in activities. Teachers should structure activities so that they are engaging and hold the student’s interest. (4) A successful teacher will employ repetition of skills in a variety of ways to give the student multiple opportunities to learn. (5) Students need to know why they are doing the task. Understanding “why” helps students 116

engage. Explaining “why” is a part of a helpful, respectful exchange between teacher and student. (6) If students enjoy the task, they are much more likely to engage in it long enough, and with enough intensity, to learn the task. Teachers can help by structuring the tasks in ways that students will enjoy.

Helpful Questions to Ask Teachers

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and alone when you are trying to help your child with significant disabilities receive the best education possible. Often a good place to start is by asking questions of your child’s classroom teacher, special teachers or teaching assistants, and others who work with her. The following questions will help you learn more about your child’s reading environment and overall reading progress: 1. Is my child in a “language rich” environment at school? 2. Does my child’s teacher talk with him/her? (verbal interaction) 3. Is my child provided with opportunities to communicate back and to make choices? 4. What are my child’s listening strengths and needs? 5. Is my child able to “track” visually? 6. What is my child’s grade level in reading? What does that mean she can do? 7. Is there a difference between how well my child reads individual words and how well she understands what she reads? If so, what can we do to improve the weaker area? 8. Are you using a specific program to teach my child? If so, what skills does this program teach? 9. If you are not using a specific program, what strategies are you using to teach my child to

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identify words, read smoothly and understand what he reads? 10. What kinds of things are you doing to help my child succeed in reading? (such as provide support by a reading specialist, provide different materials) 11. What can I do at home to help my son or daughter read well? (for example, can you suggest workshops, reading lists, parent/child materials that I may borrow, or website supports?) 12. How will I be notified about my child’s reading gains? Can you update me every 2-3 weeks? Learning More about Your Child’s Progress in Reading and Literacy

As noted in an earlier section of this book, the major components of Reading are Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Fluency, Vocabulary Development, and Comprehension. What do these terms mean for your child who has special needs? Again, a list of questions can guide conversations with your child’s teachers. These questions might help you learn more about your child’s ability to recognize sounds and words and her reading fluency: 1. Has my child been tested for language and sound awareness? If so, how recently and what did the testing show? 2. What is being done in the classroom to help my child avoid pausing unnecessarily at words? 3. What strategies are being taught to help my child work through difficult sounds, or words when reading? 4. What are some books, poems, nursery rhymes, word games, books, videos, or audio materials that I can use at home to help my

child with word recognition, sounds and/or reading aloud? 5. For practicing reading at home, would you help me select material(s) that my child can read comfortably (i.e., where my child knows 90% of the words?) To learn more about your child’s reading comprehension, ask: 1. When my child is having trouble understanding what she reads, what do you do to help her understand the material? 2. Would you show me what you are doing? 3. Can you tell me about some other activities that I can do at home to help her understand what she reads? 4. What kinds of activities can we do before and after my child has read to help her understand the information? You will also want to know about reading instruction in other subject areas, since so much academic content is transmitted through reading. These questions will help you learn about reading in various content areas: 1. Which accommodations does my child need in core academic and special area classes to support her reading, writing and spelling needs? 2. What are my child’s other teachers doing to support and help her in light of her reading, writing and/or spelling needs? Finding the answers to these questions will not always be easy. Besides your child’s regular and special education teachers, you might also consult with your school’s reading specialist, the child’s evaluator, books, library, internet, parent centers, State Improvement Grant partners, and colleges and universities. Make sure that special ways of

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addressing these literacy needs are specifically described in your child’s IEP. Including Literacy/Reading in the IEP

If a child has a disability that meets the eligibility criteria for receiving special education resources, he must have an individualized education plan (IEP). An IEP spells out educational goals and the plans for reaching them, including accommodations to be made to help the child learn. Parents, teachers, and others with educational expertise develop the IEP together so that all have the opportunity to give input and help with decision making. Literacy activities and instruction should be a part of your child’s school experience—and, therefore, his or her IEP—regardless of their current level of skills. (An exception to this would be a child who functions as a typically-developing child in the area of reading). Unfortunately, in the past, the general belief was that a child must possess certain prerequisite skills in order to benefit from literacy instruction; for example, a child might have been expected to recognize all of the letters of the alphabet. However, many students with disabilities have “scatter” skills and may not master skills sequentially; skills may not be learned in the typical sequence in which other students learn. Because learning might be achieved in a sequence that varies from other students, expectations of the time table for learning should also be allowed to vary. Therefore, written language activities and experiences should not be withheld until speech, language, motor, or other skills develop to the prerequisite level that has been set for typically-developing students. The law requires that all reading and literacy instruction be connected to State Standards. The following examples demonstrate

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some possible ways that an IEP for a student with significant disabilities can guide instruction in literacy. An example of a Kindergarten Reading Standard: (full list in the Reading Development Section of this book) English/Language Arts – Grade K – Competency Goal 1: • The learner will develop and apply enabling strategies and skills to read and write What does THAT mean for a typically developing child? • Develop book and print awareness • Develop phonemic awareness • Decode symbols • Attend to pictures, text, environmental print or symbols • Choose text for exploration

What might that look like for a student with significant disabilities? Using the same Kindergarten English/Language Arts goal as before: • The learner will develop and apply enabling strategies and skills to read and write The goal for a child with special needs might include the skills leading up to emergent literacy, such as: Pre-symbolic (before being able to recognize letters and symbols) • Awareness of being read to • Response to changes in sounds within a literacy content Early Symbolic (beginning to recognize letters and symbols) • Pay attention to reader • Awareness of differences among symbols, pictures, print Symbolic (recognize letters and symbols) • Recognition of common printed word/pictures • Ability to track print

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Present Level of Educational Performance (PLP)

When developing individual educational plans (IEPs) for students with disabilities, teachers and other professionals meet with parents to determine what kind of outcomes might be expected for each child and how to achieve the desired outcomes. When planning the IEP, it is critical that an accurate Present Level of Performance (PLP) be determined. The PLP is the foundation of a quality IEP; you need to know where the child is BEFORE you decide how far he can go. The answers to the previously listed questions about your child’s literacy/reading skills and needs can be an important part of writing the PLP. IDEA ’04 defines PLP Present Level of Performance (PLP) as: A statement of the child’s present levels of academic achievement and functional performance, including 1. How the child’s disability affects the child’s involvement, and 2. The child’s progress in the general education curriculum.

Therefore, the PLP should include the following items: • A description of the academic and functional areas affected by the child’s disability • A description of what the student is doing (strengths) and not doing (needs) in the area(s) affected • A narrative of the basis for accommodations, adjustments and special services • Information about assessments of each of the components of reading • Assessments of language abilities for students with more significant disabilities • Suggestions for Assistive Technology devices that can assist the child’s learning In other words, the PLP statement should be formed from both formal and informal data and updated educational and functional performance data, and should take into consideration the student’s overall strengths, parents’ concerns and special factors. Test and assessment scores should be explained, and should be stated in clear and understandable language.

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Sample PLPs – Present Levels of Performance Following is an example of a PLP for Michael. Based on Michael’s PLP: Michael has 100 sight words but cannot phonetically sound out two-syllable words. He is also inconsistent in any use of phonics. An appropriate annual IEP goal might be: In daily classroom reading assignments Michael will accurately sound out 8 out of 10 one-syllable words using consonant sounds, vowels, and consonant blends.

An example for Mary Beth would include different goals according to Mary Beth’s abilities. Based on Mary Beth’s IEP: Mary Beth understands that a book communicates a “story”. She is able to scan each page, identify objects and turn pages when prompted. She does not recognize that a word means an object. An appropriate annual IEP goal might be: With verbal and visual prompts by the teacher during classroom reading opportunities, Mary Beth will correctly identify and retrieve 5 objects in the classroom corresponding to words being read in a book; such as frog, spoon, dog, cow, horse.

Each team will also discuss which data collection strategy (testing method) will be used to measure the progress toward reaching this goal. The IEP Team should include someone knowledgeable about reading. Questions for parents to ask about IEP’s and PLPs:

• What is the source of the data that tells how my child is doing? • What is the data collection (testing) schedule? • Who will collect the data (test)? • Which Research-based Practice will be used to 120

teach my child the skills to help him reach the established goals? • Does the method of instruction match the needs identified in the PLP? • What evidence do you have to show that the method chosen will be effective instruction for my child? Modifications & Accommodations

Modifications and accommodations refer to teaching supports and services that a student with special needs may require to successfully demonstrate learning. Modifications and accommodations may be required so that each child will have access to the general curriculum, and they should be listed in the written IEP. A child with special needs should have access to regular reading instruction in the general curriculum in addition to proper modifications and accommodations that are specific to the child and based on her reading difficulties. Assistive technology devices should be considered to aid the child in learning more readily. To summarize, IEPs should be… • Based on the child’s specific needs • Connected to the general curriculum • Have goals that can be accomplished in 12 months • Be based on high expectations and instruction based on good research! If you would like more help with how to work with your child’s teachers when planning Individual Education Plans (IEPs) or about how to document your child’s Present Level of Performance (PLP), contact one of the agencies listed in the resource section that follows.

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Other Resources The following pages include information about people and agencies to contact for additional help. Tennessee Department of Education: http://www.tennessee.gov/education/ The offices listed below are primarily state-level offices. Even if an office is not close to your home, they can usually put you in touch with resources in your community, as well as provide you with information and assistance about disability issues in our state. State Department of Education: Special Education Joseph Fisher, Assistant Commissioner Division of Special Education 710 James Robertson Parkway, Andrew Johnson Tower Nashville, TN 37243-0380 (615) 741-3340; (888) 212-3162 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.state.tn.us/education/speced State Coordinator for NCLB (No Child Left Behind) Julie McCargar, Director of Federal Programs Department of Education 710 James Robertson Parkway, Andrew Johnson Tower Nashville, TN 37243-0380 (615) 532-6297 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.state.tn.us/education

The Tennessee Department of Education established three regional centers in 1997 as a systematic means to address local needs and improve services through consultation, technical assistance, and training in areas such as compliance with regulations, funding, behavior, early childhood

Programs for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities: Ages Birth through 2 Jamie Kilpatrick, Director of Early Childhood Programs Tennessee’s Early Intervention System (TEIS) Division of Special Education 710 James Robertson Parkway, Andrew Johnson Tower Nashville, TN 37243-0375 (615) 741-3537; (800) 852-7157 Web: www.state.tn.us/education/teishome.htm Programs for Children with Disabilities: Ages Birth through 5 Preschool/619 Coordinator/Debbie Cate Tennessee Department of Education Division of Special Education 2763 Island Home Blvd. Knoxville, TN 37920 865-594-8909 Web: www.state.tn.us/education/speced/index.htm /preschool, transition, family service issues, and public and private schools. If you have questions about any of these issues, call the resource center that services your area of Tennessee. http://www.tennessee.gov/education/speced/ secontacts.php

Tennessee Regional Resource Centers East Tennessee Center Robert Winstead, Coordinator 2763 Island Home Blvd. Knoxville, TN 37920 Phone (865) 594-5691 Fax (865) 594-8909 [email protected]

Middle Tennessee Center Bob Blair, Coordinator 1256 Foster Avenue Nashville, TN 37210 Phone (615) 532-3258 Fax (615) 532-3257 [email protected]

West Tennessee Center Larry Greer, Coordinator 100 Berry Hill Drive Jackson, TN 38301 Phone (731) 421-5074 Fax (731) 421-5077 [email protected]

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Family Voices of Tennessee Family Voices of Tennessee welcomes parents, family members, advocates, and professionals to the Tennessee Family-to-Family Health Information Center for families who have children with special health care needs: disability, chronic illness, physical or mental health conditions. Family Voices is operated by and for families in our state: • to assist families as they navigate public and private health systems and insurance plans (including TennCare and commercial plans) • to educate families about how to access services and resources for their children and how to work with health providers Middle Tennessee Julie Sullivan Phone: 931-686-3353 Email: [email protected]

• to listen to families as they describe their encounters with health systems and help guide them to possible solutions • to work with families, health care providers, public and private agencies, and advocacy or support groups to promote family-centered care and medical homes for children with special health care needs • to promote discussion and linkages among families, providers, managed care programs, and government to better serve the health care and related needs of children and families in Tennessee

East Tennessee Donna Graham Phone: 423-234-2334 Email: [email protected]

Toll free family line: 1-888-643-7811

Support and Training for Exceptional Parents (STEP) STEP is a statewide family-to-family program in Tennessee, established in 1989 by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The purpose of STEP is to support families by providing free information, advocacy training, and support services to parents of children eligible to receive special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

STEP services are available to any parent or family member of a special education student or a student who may need special help in school (birth through age 22). There is no charge for services to parents. Professionals in the education field are welcome to attend workshops without cost; however, there may be a nominal cost for printed materials. http://www.tnstep.org/

STEP Regional Contacts West Tennessee Jenness Ross Phone: 901-726-4334 [email protected]

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Middle Tennessee Alena Sampson Phone: 931-431-6644 [email protected]

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East Tennessee Karen Harrison Phone: 423-639-2464 [email protected]

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Additional Literacy Resources for Children With Special Needs The US Department of Education Publications offers many free resources in print to parents. To order, write to ED PUBS, PO Box 1398, Jessup, MD 20794-1398, call 1-877-4-ED-PUBS or go to www.edpubs.org/website/Content/searh.asp

The US Department of Education website offers resources in English and Español. Go to http://www.ed.gov

and search for the following: • Publications designed to help parents support children’s early reading development. • Research and practical information that helps teachers help students learn to read. • Publications to help principals and other school administrators support the development of strong reading instruction. • Recursos en español. A site created to provide a “one-stop shop” for resources related to IDEA: http://idea.ed.gov. It is a “living” website and will change and grow as resources and information become available. When fully implemented, the site will provide searchable versions of IDEA and the regulations, access to cross-referenced content from other laws (e.g., the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), etc.), video clips on selected topics, topic briefs on selected regulations, links to OSEP’s Technical Assistance and Dissemination (TA&D) Network and a Q&A Corner where you can submit questions, and a variety of other information sources. The mission of Minnesota’s PACER Center is to expand opportunities and enhance the quality of life of children and young adults with disabilities and their families, based on the concept of parents

helping parents. http://www.pacer.org/

Through its ALLIANCE and other national projects, PACER, a national center, responds to thousands of parents and professionals each year. From California to Minnesota to New York, PACER resources make a difference in the lives of 6.5 million children with disabilities nationwide. With assistance to individual families, workshops, materials for parents and professionals, and leadership in securing a free and appropriate public education for all children, PACER’s work affects and encourages families in Minnesota and across the nation. Schwab Learning http://schwablearning.org was established in 1988 because of the very personal struggle that surfaced when Charles and Helen Schwab’s son was diagnosed with dyslexia. At the time, the Schwabs knew very little about learning disabilities, and just getting through their son’s assessment process was frustrating. In addition to searching for ways to help their son academically, they were concerned with maintaining his selfesteem and building his confidence in the face of repeated academic failure. “That’s the real problem with kids who struggle with learning,” explains Charles Schwab. “Some kids feel like they’re stupid. I want them to know that they’re not. They just learn differently. Once they understand that and have the tools to learn in their individual way, then they can feel good about themselves.” Because of the bewildering early struggle to help their son, the Schwabs wanted to do something to help other parents. They began by establishing a resource center as a community service to provide

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families with information and support regarding learning difficulties. After more than a decade of service, the center grew into Schwab Learning, which provides reliable information, practical guidance and community support to parents everywhere through the organization’s website.

appropriate suggestions. • Reading Mastery (SRA-McGraw Hill) • Corrective Reading (SRA-McGraw Hill) • The Hill Methodology • Language! (Sopris West Educational Services)

Following are several programs that may be effec- • Orton-Gillingham tive in increasing literacy skills in some students with disabilities. Your child’s school may be using • The Edmark Reading Program (Riverdeep Publishing) one of these programs. If your child’s teacher is looking for an alternative program to the one • The Wilson Reading System being used for your child, one of these might be

Resources used in the creation of this toolkit: Association for Library Service for Children

READ*WRITE*NOW! Activities for Reading and Writing Fun

Connecticut Family Literacy Initiative Reading Rockets (2004), www.readingrockets.org Henderson and Berla, 1995. A New Generation of Evidence: The Family is Critical to Student Achievement Florida Building Better Readers MathStories.com

readinglady.com Schwab Learning: www.Schwablearning.org/25 Fun Ways U.S. Department of Education Publications: A Child Becomes a Reader

pbs.org

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